#I started to read it but the symbol gave me pause maybe I just go get ready and don’t look at my phone until I get home

[maybemoonbeams]

TF Comic #7 just dropped the symbol is purple and I have to work in 2 hours

[carowleysposts]

What the tarot cards say about the Good Omens pause:

I was feeling really anxious so I decided to ask the cards about the future of Good Omens (btw, if anyone wants to book a reading, prices start at $5).

I asked if the show is going to be cancelled or if the pause is really just a pause, and here’s what I got:

1. The Empress: the empress card was the first one to come out, and it is the card for creativity, fertility and projects. It translates to expression and beauty and the divine feminine (which made me believe that maybe the “production changes” will happen by including a woman to replace Gaiman as a producer, or something like that).

2. Temperance: it’s the card for patience, which is really interesting given the circumstances. It symbolizes planning, moderation and balance, which for sure could mean that this pause is actually just a pause for strategic changes to occur. What I got from it is that it is only a matter of time until things possibly get back on track.

3. The Tower: this one gave me chills. It’s the card for rebuilding, restructuring, sudden changes and awakening. It basically confirmed to me that, as of right now, the plan really is to make changes, restructure the team, take out what is causing chaos, so that they can move on and get back to action.

4. The Chariot: next, we have the chariot. It symbolizes control, determination, willpower, action and success. It basically says that someone will take the reins of this project and make work as soon as possible. It also represents velocity and speed, which could mean it’s not going to take long.

EXTRA:

I always look, after drawing the cards, at the one in the very bottom of the shuffled deck. And well, this time, the bottom one was The Magician. This card represents manifestation, communication, resourcefulness and inspiration. I strongly believe this is a message: Ask for it. Manifest. Be vocal on social media that you WANT this show to go on. This card says that you have everything in hand to make what you want to happen a reality. This is a great card .

It gave me some peace and hope, so I truly hope it does the same for you. The cards matched perfectly with the situation and the last one even matches with the show itself.

Hope you guys feel better!

Thank you for reading, if anyone wants to book a reading just let me know and we’ll talk.

[thegrimreaper-probably]

plz more of gravity falls x plant monster user, maybe include some weird cult that worships user like a god? a name for user like "Venus" from the venus flytrap, or Primula, it comes from the Latin word for Daisy, or straight up Audrey the second, lil reference to the little shop of horrors, and it makes reference for how mabel placed a sticker on their pot? user getting accidentally sold to a random kid (guess who sold them) and maybe...user learning to swear by (guess who again) but PLEASE, I NEED MOREEEEEEEEE

Gravity falls x plant monster reader part three

Mainly your relationship with Stanley

(Don’t need to read all of them to understand) Gender is once again not a concept for alien plant. It/they/she/he

Imma be so honest I wrote an entire thing, hated it and everything I tried made it worse. So I scrapped it and now it’s late, my bad.

This is set in the past, so before the twins. During and after the portal.

A lot and I mean a lot has happened in the last month. First Ford and FiddleFord, broke up. As lab partners, not as boyfriends. I may be an evil plant from outer space but cheating is wrong, eating people isn’t. Those two were as queer as Orin Scrivello D.D.S. was addicted to laughing gas.

Now Ford is going crazy, or Bill is? It’s rather complicated. Ford shut down the portal, something about how Bill wanted world domination. I could’ve told you that, I mean why else would I be here if world domination wasn’t possible with these two? Anyways currently Bill or more accurately Bill possessing Ford is punching the door to the basement.

“Does he remember any of this?” Bill stops and turns to me.

“Not a single memory, why? You got something Twoey?” Where did Twoey come from? Bill refuses to use the name Ford gave me.

“You let me in on world domination, I let you in downstairs.” He blinks, similar to a frog.

“Just gotta feed me so I can slip under the gap.” My vine points to the bottom of the door.

“I got plans for you, Sixer will give up soon.” And that was the second to last time I saw him. After that he possessed Ford and brought me along. I’m deeply traumatized seeing a shirtless Ford rolling around and eating spiders. I didn’t need to see any of that or be apart of a tramp stamp tattoo session.

Ford had gone crazy and I was well, mainly hungry but I guess…lonely. There was no FiddleFord to scare, no more experiment to see what I could do, no more music around, and no Ford to learn from. Bill wasn’t any better, that man was acting like a teenager going through a break up.

And eventually things happened, Stanley, Ford’s twin brother, had came to the house. You know the rest, and I ain’t gonna talk about it.

“Mullet!” Stan drops his beer on the ground, it shatters on the floor. He looks up at me and pauses.

“You- you can talk?”

“You see anyone else here? No? Then yes I can talk, do much more then talkin’ tell ya that much. This?” I move my vine to point at the window. “Sunlight, it ain’t enough, I need food. So either you feed me or I feed on you.”

“How much did I drink?”

“If I didn’t need ya I’d drain ya dry. Go grab that book got the number 1 on it. Got it or do I gotta dumb it down for you mullet boy?” He nods and turns to leave then pauses.

“I’m doing this for Ford, not you.” Stan leaves and that was the start of mullet boy’s identity theft of Stanford Pines. It was mainly just him questioning his own or his brother’s life choices, coupled with drinking, smoking, and crime.

There were moments where he’d bring me downstairs and it wasn’t so lonely.

“None of this makes senses, what is wrong with-.”

“It stands for e.” I point to the symbol.

“You know the rest?”

“You find e you find the rest easy.”

Or

“I just got him back, I can’t lose him again.”

I don’t answer for a bit I move my vines, like how Ford would fidget with his own. “He was already lost, a long time ago.“

“I could’ve help him if he just-.”

“You couldn’t.”

“Why didn’t he just call me before this?”

“You know the answer, you just refuse to accept that, that’s the answer. It’s not satisfying, human rarely are.”

Others where I learned more about English, one of the many human languages.

“Son of a bitch, what the hell?!” Stan yelled when I first nipped him.

“These shitheads don’t know anything about marriage, it’s a scam.” Stan says as the tv plays some awful movie.

“Where the fuck is it?” Stans asks as he looks for a wrench. And much more as life went on, with many other stories to go along with them.

Was a few times where he’d fall asleep and I could easily drain him. I didn’t though, as stupid as it was, Stan was my key to opening that portal again…for world domination of course. Over the years he became more of a con man and the house became a tourist trap. While he would still work on the portal, the basement wasn’t a room I could survive in. So I got put upstairs in the window.

Where I met little tiny Soos, now my hatred for kids and human kind was very much strong. This kid was cute enough to eat, not that I’m picky. Soos had soon started to work at the shack, where I tried to eat him.

“Mr. Pines? I fixed the-.” I go to eat him and Stan throws his cane at me.

“There was a- uh- bug. Go back to work I ain’t paying ya to talk.”

“Okay Mr. Pines!” Soos walks off and Stan looks back at me. I smile and a customer walks in.

“Can I buy that?” The man points to me, Stan smirks and hands me over.

“$500. New species, called Spatium Praereptor.” 500?! What am I? A Monstera Deliciosa?

“Fine.” He hands Stan the money and Stan gives him me. I move my vines around to look like I’m sticking a middle finger up. He does it back and the guy puts me in his car.

Come to find out I was joining a cult. Cult? Religion? Who cares? Only downside was I was not being praised but killed by some stupid blind eyes meatheads. Sometime between eating people and throwing them Stan somehow found me and brought me back. Stan was reckless, irresponsible, a con man, gross, and a loser.

Though he was my friend, and I will still have world domination even if I care for two humans. Just cause I like two people doesn’t mean I’m soft. Shut up.

[isuckatwritingsobenice]

Hi! Can I request a milo thatch x reader who drown themselves in their work but the one time they work with milo, they find some way rope milo into their work? Even if it’s something the reader can easily do by themselves but prefer to do it with milo? Could you sprinkle in some flustered milo by any chance 🙏. Hope you have a good day/night 💞!

ps: love your Alastor fics!!

A/N: Thank you so much I truly appreciate it!! Just an announcement real quick, I’m doing a 500 follower event which is posted & linked to my navigation if anyone is interested!! Anyway, happy reading!!

Warnings: none!

Navigation!! // Masterlist!!

Y/N had been at it for hours, their focus razor-sharp as they meticulously combed through every text, every symbol. They were no stranger to long nights, often losing themselves in their work to the point where everything else faded into the background. The weight of responsibility, the drive to uncover every hidden truth, kept them tethered to the library desk, even as the sun began to set.

Milo had noticed it, of course. How could he not? He admired Y/N’s dedication, but he couldn’t help but worry as he watched them skip meals, their posture growing more rigid, and their eyes tired from hours of staring at ancient texts. As they worked together, he saw the signs of exhaustion creeping in—the way Y/N’s shoulders slumped slightly, the way they blinked more often, trying to stay focused.

He tried to ignore it at first, not wanting to interrupt. But as the minutes turned into hours, Milo’s concern grew. Finally, he couldn’t stay silent any longer. “Y/N,” he said gently, his voice cutting through the silence of the library. “Maybe we should take a break. You’ve been working for so long… I’m worried you’re going to burn out.”

Y/N shook their head, not even looking up from the text in front of them. “I’m fine, Milo. I just need to finish this section, then I’ll take a break. I promise.”

Milo frowned, not convinced. He reached out and gently placed a hand on Y/N’s arm, causing them to pause and finally look at him. “You said that an hour ago,” he pointed out softly. His touch was warm, grounding, and Y/N felt a pang of guilt at the concern in his eyes.

“I know this is important,” Milo continued, his thumb absentmindedly rubbing small circles on Y/N’s arm, “but you’re important too. And I can’t help but worry when I see you pushing yourself so hard. Please, just take a short break. We can go outside, get some fresh air, maybe grab something to eat?”

Y/N hesitated, torn between the need to continue and the growing realization that Milo was right. Their mind was starting to blur around the edges, and their body felt heavier than it had earlier. They looked into Milo’s eyes, seeing the genuine worry there, and something in them softened.

“Alright,” Y/N finally agreed, their voice quieter now. “A break sounds good.”

Milo’s relief was palpable, and his face lit up with a small, grateful smile. “Great! I promise it’ll be quick, and we can come right back after.”

As they stood up, Y/N felt the full weight of their exhaustion hit them. Their legs were stiff, and a dull ache spread across their shoulders. Milo noticed and immediately moved closer, his hand hovering near Y/N’s back as if ready to catch them if they stumbled. “Here, lean on me if you need to,” he offered, his voice filled with concern.

Y/N gave him a tired but appreciative smile. “I’m okay, just… a bit more tired than I realized.”

Milo nodded, understanding. “That’s why it’s important to take breaks,” he said gently, guiding them out of the library. “Even the best researchers need to rest sometimes.”

As they stepped outside, the cool evening air brushed against their skin, refreshing and invigorating. Y/N breathed in deeply, feeling a little bit of the tension in their body start to release. Milo stayed close, his presence comforting and steadying.

For a few moments, they walked in silence, simply enjoying the break. Y/N felt the weight of their exhaustion begin to lift, replaced by a quiet sense of peace. They glanced at Milo, who was looking at them with that same gentle concern.

“Thank you,” Y/N said softly, feeling a warmth spread through their chest—not just from the break, but from the way Milo had cared enough to pull them away from their work. “I needed this more than I realized.”

Milo smiled, his eyes soft as he looked back at Y/N. “Anytime. I’m here to help, remember? Even if that means reminding you to take care of yourself.”

Y/N nodded, feeling a deep sense of gratitude for Milo. As they headed back inside, they felt more refreshed, more ready to continue. And with Milo by their side, they knew they wouldn’t be facing the challenges alone.

[wutlaikalikes]

Milk

synopsis: Magni and Vesper found a mysterious bottle of milk.

note: if you are still sad about them leaving, i get it. maybe skip this.

~~~~~~~~~★

Vesper was quietly reading a book in the Guild Tempus library, Vestea preparing tea for Vesper and one of the Vestie hanging out just chillin’. A typical scene in this room full of books and scrolls. Suddenly, the door opened loudly, startling Vestea dropping the tea he was about to serve.

“Vesper!” the guild’s alchemist said as he barged in with one of the Magmites.

Vesper closed his book and set it gently on the table before him. “Magni, couldn’t you come in quietly? You’ll be bothering everyone in this room.”

Vesper looks at Vestea and Vestie, they were cleaning the broken tea cup and spilled tea.

“Vesper, bro. What do you mean by everyone? No one else is here. Well, except for them I guess.” Magni looked at the direction Vesper is looking at. Vestie stepped out of the room to throw the broken cup to the proper receptacle while Vestea started to prepare another cup of tea and a beverage for their guest. “Also, you're the only one that likes to read this guild.”

Vesper turned his attention to Magni, “I know, I’m still thinking of how to lure Axel into reading books.”

“None of these books even have pictures, Axel will be bored as soon as he opens one.” Magni said as he flipped through one of the books on Vesper’s table.

Vesper sighed, “Anyway, what can I do for you?”

“Can’t I just visit my favorite scholar?”

“You’re bored aren’t you? Where are the others?”

“Arg. I dunno. I just came out of the lab and none of the boys are around.” Magni sat at one of the chairs by the long table at the center of the room. Vestea sets the tray on the table with beverages for Vesper and Magni.

The two naturally chatted about the most random things and possible quick money schemes for the guild’s fund and how to hide it from the guild’s treasurer as they shared drinks and snacks prepared by Vestea.

“Vestea!” Magni suddenly called, “I like this milk you prepared for me! It's weird that you gave me milk considering I’m lactose intolerant but I can’t figure out what type of milk this is.”

“Milk?” Vesper said confused, “why do you have milk, Vestea? I don’t put anything on my tea.”

Vestea, a bit panicked, pointed at a box on the library’s mini pantry. Vesper stood up to check what was on the box as it had been there for a while. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, where did this box come from?” Vesper looked inside the box, inside were a couple of tea packages and a mysterious white bottle with intricate design but no indication of what it could be.

Vestea made noises that only Vesper could understand. “Bettel brought it here? When?” Vestea made more noises. “What do you mean, when they returned from their trip? That was 6 months ago!”

“WHAT!!! I drank expired milk!” Magni stood up. But he paused and just stood there.

“Are you okay? Should you go to the bathroom? Maybe the hospital? Do you have potions for this?” Vesper rapidly asked.

Calmly Magni answered, “I actually feel fine. We’ve been talking for a while now, I should have felt something was wrong by now.”

“Ok. But we have to be sure, shouldn’t we….”

Before Vesper could continue, Magni felt an urge to drink whatever was on the bottle and grabbed the mysterious bottle to drink the rest of whatever was inside.

“Are you crazy?! You don’t know what was in that!” Vesper said in horror.

Magni emptied the bottle. “I don’t know why I did that but I actually taste good”.

Vesper confiscated the bottle from Magni and started to inspect it. Concern for his friend who just drank a mysterious drink. On the bottle’s intricate design, he noticed a series of symbols that he had seen in one of the books Flayon gave to him from their expedition in Xenokuni.

“Wait! I’ve seen these symbols before!” Vesper handed the bottle to Vestea asking him to clean it a bit. He hurried to his table and Magni followed him.

“Ah! It’s this!” Vesper exclaimed, “It looks the same and there is a translation too. Let’s see.” Magni took a closer look as well.

“This bottle holds sacred milk. No one knows how this bottle came to be but it contains an endless amount of milk. A milk so good that you want to drink it forever. Though the amount is endless, if you drink too quickly the bottle’s content will be consumed, but do not worry it will fill up again overtime whenever the bottle desires, just be patient. But, take heed, do not empty the bottle or it’ll take you inside the bottle. What would await you, is a trial. Those that returned from inside the bottle stated different accounts of a set of trials. These trials as stated by those taken will help fill the bottle with milk. Once filled they can finally return. Some returned within a week, some returned after a few years. The longest record is 10 years. This bottle of milk is quite helpful but please just be patient and do not, in any circumstances, empty it out.”

Suddenly, Vestea and Magmite started making noises. The bottle started to suck Vestea inside with Magmite attempting to pull him out.

Magni hurriedly tried to help, Vestea was already inside with Magmite already half in. “Vesper! Does it say how we can stop this?” Magni inquired.

“No, I don’t think there is.” Vesper tried to look through the other books and scrolls from the Xenokuni trip hoping that maybe there were more to the bottle.

“Vesper!” Magni shouted and Vesper’s attention to the alchemist. Half of Magni’s arm is already inside and struggling to pull himself out.

“I think we should just go through the trials. We’re smart, how hard could it be?” Vesper grabbed a piece of paper and started to write on it.

“Really? We’re just gonna go inside?” Magni continued to struggle and even tried to break the bottle but it was indestructible.

“I don’t think we have any choice.” Vesper answered, “it’ll just continue to try to suck us in.”

Coincidently, Vestie returned from throwing away trash with another Magmite tagging along.

“Perfect! You’re here!” Vesper beaconed for Vestie to approach. “Vestie, make sure you bring this to Altare. We’ll be back but not sure when. Look after the library while I’m gone and try to coax Axel to read okay?”

Vesper is on his way to Magni when he turns back for another message. “And always take care of yourself, ok buddy?”

The other Magmite was trying to hold on to Magni whose body was already inside the bottle with only his left arm and head peeking out of the bottle.

“Regardless of what I look like, I’m fine!” Magni assured Magmite, “You know what you should do, you’re not dumb. Don’t let anyone inside the lab, not that its dangerous in these but you know what we do there.”

With only the hand peeking out of the bottle, Magni managed to say one more thing, “Don't you fucking cry! You’ll be fine!”

Vesper held on to Magni’s hand and without struggling, he let the bottle take him in.

The bottle stopped moving and it laid motionless on the floor. Vestie and Magmite looked at each other, confused, worried and unable to comprehend what just happened.

From the distance, they heard the massive guild door open. Vestie and Magmite hurriedly run with Vesper’s note.

“Oh! Hi guys, what’s up?” the guild leader greeted as the rest of the boys entered.

Vestie handed the note to Altare.

“Hmmm? What’s this?” Altare opened the note and it said, “We went out to get milk”.

END

~~~~~~~~~★

Interview with an Alchemist

MY F***ING GAWD! I meant for this to be a funny story as to why they went on an adventure to get milk that is safe for those who are lactose intolerant on their own. But I couldn’t find a way as to why it was just Vesper and Magni, when for sure the rest of the guild would go.

As soon as I wrote Vesper’s “And always take care of yourself, ok buddy?” I just started crying. I’m definitely just delulu but I kinda heard him say it. I miss Vesper… I actually had to step away from my computer for a moment cause I was struggling to think of lines and my tears just wouldn’t stop.

I swear this is supposed to be funny! I’m sorry!! Also, English is not my native language. I know there are grammatical errors in there. I'm also one of those people who just can't think of a good title.

[empressofthesunwriter]

Nothing is True

… Everything is permitted.

What is real?

What is not?

Is she just turning crazy or are other powers at work?

One thing is clear Kohana will get to the bottom of this and maybe change the whole Ninja-World at the same time.

S.I. Third Shinobi World War 

!!!!PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!

Chapter 6: Hidden Blade

Kizashi was eating with gusto one of the fresh peaches their Kaa-Chan had bought today at the market, while he watched how his little sister Kohana turned their basement upside down.

“Again, explain to me what you are searching for, Imoto-Chan.”, he asked amused.

His little sister looked really funny full of cobwebs and dust.

“A family heirloom.”, was her short answer, opening another chest.

“What kind of family heirloom?”

“A weapon.”

“A weapon, interesting.”, the pink-haired young man bit into his peach. “What kind of weapon?”

Kohana stopped, and a little frown formed on her face.

“A...Hidden Blade.”

The older boy couldn’t help but snort.

“What by Kami is a Hidden Blade?”

 “I will know when I see it.”, she barked at him, closing the chest and opening the next one.

Kizashi raised an eyebrow. Someone was grumpy.

“Imoto-Chan, what gave you even the idea that we have something like that?”

She paused and sent him a look.

“Can’t you annoy anyone else?”

“No, I wanna annoy you.”, he grinned cheeky, which made Kohana huff well annoyed.

She rather wished her brother be far away.

This was something important, she didn’t need his stupid commentary.

A few weeks had passed since she had become a Genin.

To her utter disappointment, the Ninja Life wasn't as glamorous as she imaged.

Besides training with Minato-Sensei and her teammates, which was awesome, the daily D-Rank Missions were absolutely horrible!

Painting fences, ripping out weed, babysitting, cleaning the Inuzuka kennels!

These were glorified chores, nothing more!

Obito and her were ready to burst, Rin tried to keep them calm and Kakashi seemed to have a sick satisfaction seeing them nearly lose it.

But the worst was the damn Tora-Mission!

If they had to catch that hellcat one more time, Kohana would lose it, she swore!

The only thing good was, like she said, the training Minato-Sensei made them go through.

Already Kohana felt much stronger. Obito and Rin also made great progress, Rin even started to learn medical jutsu. Sure none of them were on Kakashi-Level, but one had to celebrate the little victories in life.

Anyway, besides this, Kohana had found more diaries of Haruno Sakuya, her mysterious world-jumping ancestor and had learned quite a bit more about the Assassin Way of Life.

It was still difficult to wrap her head around that Sakuya had been in another world an assassin named Carina Auditore, coming from a long line of assassins, however with any more pages she read, Kohana believed it more.

There was also the fact, that she still got visions.

It was like she relived Carina/Sakuya's life.

Carina Auditore had lived in such a modern world, full of strange devices, yet was part of an order that protected humankind for centuries.

Haruno Sakuya was a weak Miko who had trained hard to become a semi-passable Ninja, during the Warring States Era and had been Uchiha Madara’s lover.

What the soul who had inhabited these two women had in common was their dedication to the assassin order.

Sakuya had tried and succeeded in recreating the Assassin Brotherhood's most-priced weapon.

The symbol of the Brotherhood you could say.

The Hidden Blade.

On the page, Kohana had read yesterday night, was written that Sakuya had placed her Hidden Blade in a chest, in the hope someone in the Haruno Clan would in the future pick it up again.

Kohana was determined to be this one.

Reading all these stories about being an assassin and living them in her vision...Kohana felt closer to being an assassin, than a ninja.

Strangely it fit her like a clove.

The assassination techniques Sakuya had written down in her dairies, the green-haired girl learned them fast.

It was like her body already knew them, remembered them.

This gave her an edge against other ninjas.

She fought in a way, that was not seen since Sakuya, so her teammates had trouble to counter it. Even Kakashi had struggled in the beginning, but the Hatake wasn’t a protege for nothing. He was the only one who could give her a fight.

However, Kohana missed the Hidden Blade.

She already lived out the Credo of the Assassin Brotherhood, yet without Hidden Blade she couldn’t call herself assassin.

Kunai could only work so much. They didn’t feel right when she tried out her assassination techniques.

No, she needed Sakuya Hidden Blade.

If she only could find it in one of these chests.

And if only her stupid older brother would leave her alone!

Kohana continued to rummage through the chests, hoping to find the Hidden Blade that her ancestor had left for her.

She couldn't shake off the feeling that it was somewhere in their basement, hidden away from prying eyes.

As she opened another chest, she saw a glint of metal and her heart skipped a beat.

Could it be?

Carefully lifting out the object, she gasped in awe as she held the Hidden Blade in her hands.

It was bigger than she imagined built in an arm-guard with intricate designs.

She recognized the Assassin's Brotherhood Symbol, which Sakuya had drawn in her dairy’s on it.

The green-haired girl felt a surge of excitement course through her veins as she examined it closely. 

This was it!

The prized possession of the Assassin Brotherhood.

Kizashi watched as his little sister's face lit up with joy and couldn't help but wonder what was so special about this strange weapon.

For sure he never saw anything like that, for what was this thing good for?

Kohana felt Kizashi's eyes on her but ignored it and put the arm guard on her right arm.

She tried to make the Blade flip out like she had read in the diary, but sadly nothing happened.

“What?!”, she exclaimed surprised.

“Seems like your new toy is broken.”, guessed her brother. “You need to fix it.”

“Just awesome!”, grumbled Kohana. “Of course, it’s broken, I have to find the schematics for it now.”

“And a smith who understands this strange weapon.”, reminds her brother gleefully.

For that, Kohana trowed an old pillow in his face.

Her brother just let himself get hit.

Not like the pillow could hurt him.

Meanwhile, Kohana sighed in frustration.

Finding a smith who could fix the Hidden Blade was going to be a challenge. She didn't know anyone in the village who had experience with such an intricate weapon. However, she wasn't going to give up that easily.

She was determined to make it work, no matter what it took.

As she continued to search through the chests, her mind raced with possibilities of where she could find a smith.

Perhaps she could ask Minato-Sensei for help.

Kizashi watched as his sister's determination grew stronger and couldn't help but feel proud of her. He may not understand the importance of the Hidden Blade, yet he knew how much it meant to Kohana.

"Imoto-Chan," he said softly, "I'll help you find a smith. We'll figure this out together."

Surprised Kohana looked at him and smiled gratefully.

“Thanks Nii-Chan.”

***

Well, Kohana had found the schematics but every smith Kizashi and her visit were totally clueless.

Just awesome.

“This is the only one remaining.”, she groaned at Kizashi.

The smith stall belonged to Aito Takamaru. He was known in Konoha for his excellent weapons, the only problem was that he was really young.

It seemed impossible that he would understand the Hidden Blade.

Kizashi patted her head.

“Now, now, Ko-Chan, let’s ask and see. If I remember right the Aito’s been a smith family since the Warring States Era. If he doesn’t can help, maybe his father or grandfather.”

Kohana reluctantly followed Kizashi to Aito Takamaru's stall.

As they approached, she noticed that the young man was busy working on a Katana. He looked up as they approached and greeted them with a smile.

"Hello there! How can I help you today?"

Kizashi stepped forward and explained their dilemma to Aito-San.

The young smith listened carefully and nodded thoughtfully as he examined the Hidden Blade.

"This is quite an interesting piece," he said, "I've never seen anything like it before."

Kohana felt her heart sink. She had been hoping that Aito-San would be able to fix it, but now it seemed like all hope was lost.

However, much to her surprise, Aito-San continued speaking.

"But I think I might be able to figure it out," he said with a grin. "My grandfather told me often the story of how he made a special blade for a Miko named Haruno Sakuya. I bet it's this one, right?”

“Yeah, it is. Haruno Sakuya is our ancestor.”, told Kohana with hope in her heart.

Aito-San nodded.

“Good thing you have the schematics too. I think with what my grandfather told me and these, I will be successful in repairing the Hidden Blade.”

Kohana couldn't believe her ears.

Was this really happening? Could Aito-San really fix the Hidden Blade?

She watched in amazement as the young smith got to work, meticulously examining each part of the arm guard and studying the schematics that Kohana had brought with her.

For hours he worked on the blade.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Aito-San stood up and held out the Hidden Blade to Kohana.

"It's done," he said with a smile.

The glass-wearing girl took the arm-guard from him and examined it closely.

Sure enough, when she flicked her wrist just right, the blade sprang out from its hiding place with a satisfying snap.

"Thank you so much!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I don't know what I would have done without your help."

Aito-San just smiled modestly in response.

"It was my pleasure.”

As Kohana left the stall with Kizashi by her side, she couldn't help but feel grateful for this new ally that she had found in Aito Takamaru.

With his help, she knew that nothing could stand in her way!

***

“Alright, kids, who want to spar today first?”, asked Minato-Sensei the next day his four Genin.

After a good morning workout, it was now time for it.

Eagerly Kohana raised her hand.

“I would like to, Minato-Sensei.”

She so wanted to try out her Hidden Blade!

“Good, Kakashi-Kun, are up to spar with Kohana-Chan?”

The Hatake just gave a nod.

“Yeah, kick his ass, Kohana-Chan!”, rooted Obito for her, which made the girl blush a little.

Sweet Rin gave them both a smile: “Do your best Kohana-Chan and Kakashi-Kun.”

“Aww, Rin-Chan, why do have to be on his side too?”

She just giggled.

Kakashi and Kohana stood before each other, waiting for Minato-Sensei to go.

Minato-Sensei gave the signal and Kohana immediately went on the offensive, her Hidden Blade at the ready.

Kakashi was quick to dodge her attacks, yet he couldn't help but be impressed by her skill with the strange weapon.

She moved with a grace and fluidity that he had never seen before.

As they continued to spar, Kohana began to incorporate more of Sakuya's assassination techniques into her fighting style.

Her movements became even more unpredictable, making it difficult for Kakashi to keep up.

Obito was cheering loudly for her and even Rin clapped her hands.

“Yes you rock, Kohana-Chan!”, shouted Obito.

However, just as Kohana thought she had the upper hand, Kakashi suddenly disappeared from view. 

She looked around frantically, trying to find him, yet he was nowhere in sight.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her back and realized too late that Kakashi attacked one of the weak spots of her body.

She fell to the ground with a thud, feeling defeated.

And she had been doing so well!

Kakashi walked over to her with an outstretched hand and helped her up.

"Good job," he said calmly.

The green-haired girl smiled back at him, feeling proud of herself for holding her own against one of Konoha's most talented ninjas.

They made the Seal of Reconciliation.

“Good spar you two.”, congratulated them Minato-Sensei. “Kohana you really improved and this new weapon of yours is amazing. Kakashi as always impressive. Now Obito and Rin you spar and the winner of that spar goes against Kakashi.”

Obito won the spar against Rin and so the two boys fought against each other.

Of course, Kakashi won, but Obito had given him a good fight too.

Then Minato-Sensei told Kohana and Rin that they should spar against each other.

Ready to spar, the two females faced each other.

Kohana flipped her Hidden Blade in and out, eager to test it out once again.

They circled each other warily, both waiting for the other to make the first move.

Finally, Rin lunged forward, aiming a punch at Kohana's face.

The green-haired girl easily dodged it and countered with a swift kick to Rin's stomach.  She stumbled back, but quickly regained her footing and launched another attack.

The two girls traded blows back and forth, neither one gaining the upper hand for long. Kohana was impressed by Rin's speed and agility, but she knew that she had something that Rin didn't - the Hidden Blade.

As they continued to spar, Kohana began to incorporate Sakuya's assassination techniques into her fighting style once again.

She moved in quick bursts of speed, striking at Rin from unexpected angles with her weapon. The brunette struggled to keep up with her movements, then there was finally an opening.

With elegance, Kohana flipped herself over Rin, pierced her Hidden Blade into Rin's shirt and could flick her opponent like this away from her.

Rin fell down and Kohana was over her, Hidden Blade at her pulse.

“Kohana, wins!”, called Minato-Sensei over.

Kohana was panting  as she lowered her weapon and smiled at Rin: “You did great!”

Her best friend smiled back at her: “So did you! That Hidden Blade is amazing.”

Kohana felt a surge of pride as she looked down at the arm-guard: “Thanks! Aito-San helped me repair it.”

The green-haired girl helped her brunette friend up and they made the Seal of Reconciliation.

Minato-Sensei came over to them: “I'm really impressed with your progress lately, Kohana-Chan.”

“Thank you Sensei,” replied Kohana gratefully. “I couldn't have done it without your training.”

“Now, who is ready for a D-Rank Mission?”

Three groans could be heard.

***

After the  D-Rank mission, they had to walk the Inuzuka Ninken, Minato-Sensei called it a day.

Kakashi left with a lazy wave, while Rin said she had to help her parents in their shop.

That left Obito and Kohana.

Alone.

If she hadn’t taken this chance to spend some time with her crush, Kohana would never have progressed in their relationship.

“Hey, do you want to hang out for a bit?”, she asked him.

Obito's face lit up with excitement: “Sure! What do you want to do?”

Kohana thought for a moment before replying: “How about we go get some ice cream at the new shop that just opened up?”

“Sounds great!”

As they walked towards the ice cream shop, Kohana couldn't help but feel nervous.

This was the first time that she had hung out alone with Obito since becoming a Genin. She wasn't sure what to say or how to act around him.

Thankfully, Obito seemed oblivious to her nervousness and was busy chatting away about his latest manga. Kohana listened intently, she read the series too.

That was something they had in common.

They discussed plot points and why this character sucked and another was just amazing as they arrived at the ice cream shop.

Kohana ordered a chocolate milkshake while Obito got a strawberry sundae.

They sat down at one of the tables outside and enjoyed their treats in comfortable silence.

After finishing their desserts, they decided to take a walk around the village. As they strolled through the streets, Obito and her talked about the sparring matches today.

The Uchiha was giddy that she gave Kakashi a run for his money, even if she lost in the end.

“Maybe that will show stupid Bakashi, that we all can be amazing ninjas!”, he told her.

“You really hate Hatake-San, mmh?”

“Hate is a strong word. I mean he goes on my nerves, but I don’t hate him. I just hate his I’m-better-then-anyone-spiel he has going on!”

With that Obito frustrated kicked a stone away.

The Haruno bit her lip. She had a feeling, no she was sure that Obito hated also Kakashi because Rin was in love with the protege.

It was so sad, Kohana liked Obito, Obito liked Rin, Rin liked Kakashi and Kakashi didn’t seem to have a crush on anyone.

No one was a winner here.

Only if someone got new feelings for another and they liked them back.

How Kohana wished she could make Obito fall in love with her, but sadly Obito was too fixed on Rin.

What could she do to impress him so that he saw her finally?

Kicking Kakashi's ass maybe?

Obito seemed to like it when Kohana gave Kakashi a challenge, but maybe anyone who gave his rival a challenge was cool in the Uchiha's eyes.

As they continued their walk, Kohana couldn't help but feel a bit down.

She had hoped that this outing would bring her and Obito closer together, however, if your name wasn’t Rin Nohara you weren’t even a girl in Obito's eyes.

Sighed inwardly she tried to push those thoughts aside.

Maybe she could just be happy with being friends with Obito for now.

However as they turned a corner, something caught her eye.

It was a small flower shop that she had never noticed before.

Curious, she tugged on Obito's sleeve and pointed at the shop.

"Hey, do you want to take a look in there?"

Obito looked sceptical at first, but then shrugged his shoulders: "Why not?"

As they entered the shop, Kohana was immediately hit by the sweet scent of flowers.

The walls were lined with vases of all different colours and shapes, each one filled with beautiful blossoms.

Kohana felt herself relaxing as she took in the tranquil atmosphere of the shop.

Even Obito seemed to be enjoying himself as he examined some of the more exotic blooms.

Suddenly, Kohana spotted a small pot of delicate blue flowers tucked away in a corner of the shop.

Forget-me-nots.

Her Kaa-Chan had taught her the Flower Langue, if she remembered right Forget-me-not meant True love.

She gulped.

Well if she couldn’t say with words what she felt, maybe the flower would do.

Kohana walked over to the pot of Forget-me-not’s and picked one.

Turning to Obito, who was still examining the other flowers, she said softly: "Hey, Obito. Do you know what these flowers mean?"

Obito shook his head: "No, what do they mean?"

Kohana took a deep breath before answering: "They mean true love."

She handed him the flower and looked into his beautiful black eyes.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Obito smiled at her: "I didn't know that."

The girl felt her heart swell with hope.

Maybe this was a sign that Obito would finally see her as more than just a friend.

The hope was crushed not a second later as the boy curiously pointed at yellow flowers.

“What do they mean?”

Kohana felt like crying.

“These are Primroses...they mean Desperate.”

That had to be a cruel joke of faith!

Obito pouted and tucked the Forget-me-no behind his ear.

“Aww, I like the Forget-me-no more. Hey, do you think I should buy some for Rin?”

The girl felt a pang of disappointment at Obito's suggestion.

Of course, he would want to give the Forget-me-nots to Rin, the girl he had a crush on. She forced a smile and nodded her head, trying to hide her true feelings.

"Sure, that's a great idea."

As they left the flower shop, Kohana couldn't help but feel like she was stuck in a never-ending cycle of unrequited love.

But she refused to give up hope.

Maybe one day Obito would see her as more than just a friend.

Until then, she would continue to cherish their friendship and hold onto the small moments like this one where she felt like maybe, just maybe, there was something more between them.

!!!!PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!

[kairakeiji]

keiji akaashi spent much more time in the library than he’d like to admit.

from studying to researching to just wandering through the bookshelves for new reads, akaashi always found himself in the library. at this point, he was certain that the librarian knew him by name. at this point, he was certain that the table in the back near the encyclopedias and bay window was reserved just for him. the library was a perfect place for him after all, it was a place where he could study, get work done, and get lost in the literature surrounding him.

akaashi's certain he's combed through all the sections of the library, having read most of the books that piqued his interest. he for sure knew the location of his favorite books on the library shelves, in case he ever wanted to come back and reread them. yet despite his interest in mysteries and fiction stories, there's always been one section he's always tended to avoid.

the romance section.

he didn't know why he tended to avoid that section. maybe because of that one sappy, shitty novel he read years back, or maybe because he wasn't too interested in reading a love story. it seemed as if he neglected the section, opting to run back to his comfort zones of crime and mystery. but when akaashi made his way to the library that day, something tugged at him to check the section, to finally give the books there a chance. so he took a right at nonfiction instead of his usual left as he reached the one part of the library that was unfamiliar to him.

and in the section stood you, eyes glossing over the many book titles as your fingers ran over the spines.

and suddenly akaashi wishes he visited the romance section sooner.

you met his gaze with a kind smile, "it's you!"

it makes akaashi blink, "it's me?"

"yeah the boy who always takes the good desk near the window," you replied. "it's like the best table in the library."

but he pauses once more, "you know me?"

"well," you start with a shrug, "kind of? sort of? i just see you here all the time."

"so then i take it you're here as often as me?"

and you smile, pulling a book off the shelves, "i suppose so, i'm here a lot to study like you are. but you're never in the romance section though."

"and how do you know that?"

"if you were i would've definitely started a conversation."

"just like you are now?" he asks with a smile.

and you point towards him mirroring his grin, "exactly."

akaashi's eyes follow yours as you look over the cover of a book, not able to catch sight of the cover before your attention goes back to him.

"so bay window boy," you start, closing the book you planned on checking out. "why are you in the romance section?"

and akaashi only shrugs, a small smile on his lips at the nickname, "not too sure, i just thought i'd give it a try today."

"romance isn't your genre i take it?" you ask.

"i mean i'm never in the section here am i?"

"fair point," your eyes light up, "well that's exciting, do you want recommendations or anything? i can help you find a good book."

"that sounds nice," he sighs.

"perfect, i think i have just the book," you reply, eyes going back towards the shelves as your fingers run back over the spines, "where is it, where is it," you mumble.

and akaashi can only watch, drawn in by the fact that someone else seemed to know this library like the back of their hand. he isn't sure how he hasn't noticed you before, considering how you're in here just as often as he is.

he wishes he met you sooner.

"here it is!" you smile, standing up straight as you hand him a book.

"the hidden meanings," he mumbles reading off the cover.

"it's a story about this flower shop owner who sees this pretty girl come in and ask for flower recommendations."

"i didn't think flower shops gave recommendations."

"well i mean if you want certain flowers for certain situations i guess," you laugh. "it's really cute and has a whole lot of symbolism in it, it's a good starter."

"interesting," he mumbled, flipping through the short book. "i'll give it a try then."

and you can only smile, "i'm so glad! you have to let me know how it goes."

"and how am i supposed to do that?" akaashi smiles.

"i mean i am in the library 24/7," you laugh. "just like you are."

"but what if i finish it and i'm not in the library?"

"then," you extend your hand. "i can put my number in your phone."

his heart skips a beat, "sure." and you type your digits into his phone.

"there we go," you smile. "make sure to update me, okay?"

and akaashi nods, looking up at you on seeing your contact name.

the pretty romance connoisseur it read, and akaashi couldn't help the small laugh that left his lips.

"so i don't get your real name then?" he asks watching as you turn to leave the romance section.

"you gotta text me to find out," you smile. "i don't know yours either."

"akaashi," he offers instantly. "my name's akaashi."

you pause as you reach the end of the shelf "i think i like bay window boy better," you laugh.

and before akaashi could protest you were gone.

how odd of an interaction was that, he thought to himself. akaashi didn't even get your name, all he got was a nickname, a phone number, and a book that he now had to read. he flipped through the pages of the book again, now pushing his agenda to the side as he went to check it out.

because if finishing the book would lead to him seeing you again, akaashi didn't want to waste a single second.

happy birthday to my darling keiji <33

thanks for reading!! reblogs are so so appreciated. 

[aweirdfan101]

Hello dearies! This was a request from @hamakochan375kj, so sorry it took so long but some things happened! I hope you all have a good day or night and enjoy reading this!

About: Fem!Reader has feelings for the Lady for a while and she fears that the Lady doesn’t feel the same. Reader confesses and Lady accepts!

Type of writing: Fanfiction, oneshot

Warnings: none!

Characters: The Lady and you!

Crushing on Someone is Hard ( The Lady x Fem!Reader )

Y/n’s POV ( Your name! )

My heart always raced around her, she was beautiful. She had grace and strength. I always admired The Lady, but I could never tell if she liked me back. I tried give some small hints here and there. Though, I’m sure the hints weren’t exactly..good?

My heart has been aching for a while. Crushing on someone is hard, I’ve always wanted to tell her how I felt. Yet I never could.. My own feelings were eating away at me. I had to tell The Lady, I couldn’t keep this up anymore. Even if the confession was cheesy, I just want The Lady to know how I feel. Keeping my feelings hidden was torture.

Cheesy or not, I wanted it to be small. Nothing extravagant, but just enough. I’m making some dinner for her and got some Marigold flowers. Flowers weren’t a common sight in the maw. The Lady really likes flowers and Marigolds represent warmth grace. It reminded me of The Lady. I just have to finish the food and I’ll confess..

-20 minute time skip-

The Lady’s POV

It was time for me to head to Y/n’s section of the ship. She was always such a sweet fellow. She offered to cook for me and I of course accepted. I enjoy her company and I felt feelings for her. She was one of the babysitters for the kids. Or more of someone who kept watch..

Finally, I approached the door. I hesitated before I knocked, I couldn’t..tell why. But I quickly shook it off and knocked on the door. I then hear a small thud and Y/n rushing to the door. “H-hello missus! You made it right on time!” Y/n gave a soft smile and quickly invited me in.

Y/n always liked calling me missus. It made my heart flutter whenever she said it. “O-oh! I almost forgot! Here ya go Missus! I got these marigold flowers just for you.. They symbolize warmth and grace, and well! That reminded me of you!” My cheeks started heating and becoming red, thankful Y/n couldn’t see due to my mask.

Y/n’s POV

“My..Thank you Y/n, I..I’m so happy you think of me that way.” Hearing missus say that last little bit gave me hope that she liked me back. “Well how could I not! You make everyone stop and stare with how stunning you are!” The Lady paused for a minute. “Well! How about we eat missus? You’re probably hungry.�� Missus paused for a minute and quickly headed to the table.

We chatted for a bit at the table, it was nice just being able to talk with her. It made me happy Lady could let herself relax around me. When the end of the meal came, I decided it was time for me to confess. “ Ya know..You make really happy. Everything about you leaves me speechless. I..” I felt as though my breathing stopped, but quickly I got it out.. “I love you Missus. I love you more than anything else in the world.”

I took and breath and awaited The Lady’s response. “I..I love you too, Y/n.” My eyes lit up. “Wait really????” I couldn’t help but ask if she was serious, every part of me was malfunctioning. Then I heard Missus chuckle. “Of course I do Y/n.. You are beautiful and kind..I would love to be in a relationship with you, so Y/n.. Let’s be official.

The Lady’s POV

I didn’t even have to wait till Y/n explored in a cheer and profusely saying yes. I smiled and shared a kiss with Y/n. On,y to see her stop and pause again. “I AM THE LUCKIEST GIRL IN THE WORLLDDD!! Oh I’m so happy!!!” I almost had to start calming Y/n down with how much she was cheering. She rushes over and peppers my face in kisses.

I smiled and let myself melt in her arms. Maybe... Everything wasn’t so bad after all. “I love you Y/n..”

[apocalypticgargoyle]

𝘼𝙐𝘾𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 | 𝙠𝙖𝙧𝙡 𝙟𝙖𝙘𝙤𝙗𝙨 𝙨𝙢𝙪𝙩

i wanted to use this picture so badly but I knew it would ruin the mood.

∘ request(s):

"ayo? they’re not sleeping with anyone else??? does that mean???? raw??? w edgy karl????????

"ooooo i’m lacking in edgy karl content😩 for the next one could you do one where maybe the reader is being a brat and karl puts them in their place? if that makes sense?"

"Ever since I read your edgy Karl x reader I been getting massive brainrot where reader is just questioning their relationship and Karl is just dismissive about it. It feels great to get that off my chest. 😭"

∘ pairing: edgy!Karl Jacobs x fm!reader

∘ warnings: nsfw (18+ minors dni), smut, prostitution (sort of), drinking, Todd the frat boy, crude/suggestive language, degradation, asphyxiation, spitting, angst

∘ word count: ~5k

∘ links: 𐐪 ao3 𐑂 𐐪 previous part 𐑂 𐐪 submit an edgy!karl edit 𐑂

∘ song recommendation: Come Here by Dominic Fike

a/n: y'all really drive this series oml. thank you to all your requests! should I do song recs on these or is that dumb? happy reading :)

♡ ᵍᵉⁿᵉ

You adjusted your dress, attempting to not look as unkempt as you felt. Your hair had luckily survived the bus ride to Karl’s, yet your clothing was wrinkled from being smashed against various girls with the same destination in mind. You scoffed to yourself as you leaned against the side of the house, tugging your heel into a more comfortable position as one of the women in the group knocked on the large door.

It felt like there was always some random party blaring out of the windows, so you were surprised to be mixed into an excited group of girls waiting to be invited in by one of the Brothers. The only time when you’d been over to visit Karl and there wasn’t some kind of celebration of a random event was directly before spring break.

A nameless member dressed in a tux answered the door and you bit back a laugh as he welcomed everyone into the foyer. As you scanned the crowd for Karl, you noticed the number of older people lounging about in formal attire. You furrowed your brows slightly, knowing that Todd was probably behind whatever cultist bullshit was about to happen.

You wracked your brain trying to remember if Karl had mentioned anything about the importance tonight, but knowing the two of you, he’d probably begun to tell you only for him to get distracted.

A familiar laugh drew your attention to one corner of the living room where a man who looked dangerously like Karl playfully shrugged out of the grasp of another frat member. His nails were bare and he lacked any piercings, his hair even tamed so it fell just right over his forehead. You couldn’t deny the way your mind ran absolutely feral at the view of him, as if you’d stepped into some strange alternate universe where Karl was actually Carl.

As someone else struck up the conversation in his group, he turned to look over the crowd, chewing on his bottom lip in thought. His eyes brightened as he spotted you in the mix of the group. Whoever had let you into the house handed you and the rest of the people a brochure, something you then realized most of the room was holding.

You snorted slightly as you read, “46th ANNUAL MEMBER AUCTION,” printed boldly across the front page in elegant script. Your stomach twisted slightly at the discovery. You flipped open the pamphlet, seeing a list of numbers and the names of corresponding Brothers.

Karl was 23.

“I didn’t even sign up, honestly,” a voice called in your ear as Karl leaned over your shoulder, peering at the page in your hands. His cologne was more expensive than he usually wore, made obvious by the way it complemented his natural scent with a fuller smell.

You turned slightly, nearly leaning into his warm breath above you as you moved to look at him. “Come on, let them pimp you out,” you joked, your finger underlining one of the details on the back. “It’s for the frat Karl,” you mocked, making him roll his eyes playfully. “You look awfully pretty to not have signed up,” you chided, a small amount of jealousy tugging in your chest.

He ran his tongue across his teeth, his eyes dancing with mischief as he looked down at you. “Do you want me to?”

You shrugged. “You know how loyal I am to this frat. I think it’s only right,” you continued to josh, eliciting a low chuckle from him. The smell of his whiskey hung beautifully on him. You’d be damned not to acknowledge what a catch he was.

He pulled his hand from his pocket and settled it on the small of your back, the two of you mumbling to each other as you headed towards the kitchen so he could pour you a drink. As he explained the process of the auction, your nerves started to change drastically. Luckily, your exterior kept this from Karl because you weren’t even sure yourself why you could be feeling so strongly about the event. “... Really, only the married guys get out of it without being heckled all night. It’s… I don’t know. It’s pretty lame.”

“So basically, it’s an event where the guys objectify themselves in the name of the frat." You jested, your eyes glued on his pinky ring, the only symbol of the Karl you knew. "Have you done this before?”

Karl shook his head. “I wasn’t old enough, thank God.” He leaned against the counter beside you, his back to the circulating groups of people so he was only looking at you. As he slouched, he matched your height.

You reached forward, taking the unbuttoned collar of his white shirt between your finger pads. “I’m trying to decide if I’m scared or aroused by this version of you,” you tittered, wanting so badly to feel his teeth against your skin. He smirked at you. “It’s like Wonderbread you. Like you’d have to sign a contract with me before you gave me a hug,” you teased further, making the smug look on his face twist into a laugh.

He leaned closer to you, his hand brushing to lay against the curve of your hip. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I can still rip you in half.”

You took a sip of the Brandy in your glass to hide the moan wanting to rip through your throat at the closeness of him. His lips brushed against your skin before pressing a kiss behind your ear subtly. You nudged him away from you reluctantly as Todd strolled into the kitchen, arms raised slightly as if he’d been searching the high heavens for Karl.

He moved to stand between the two of you, reaching for a decanter of a liquid you couldn’t place. Karl crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. “Karl, I have been looking everywhere for you.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small pin with Karl’s number on it and nudging it towards him on the counter. “You know, it’s kind of fun that partners can’t bid because-” he paused before wrapping an arm around you and pulling you against his side. You let out a laugh, resting your hand against his chest as Karl’s eyes darkened at the two of you. “-Your lovebug can have me tonight then, huh?” He mocked, smirking.

“Well, technically, I’m not his partner…” you added, pretending to touch Todd flirtatiously.

Todd’s arms pulled you closer. “You know what I mean, Princess.” You snickered, pushing him off of you as he moved to lean against the sink behind you. “Come on, Karl. I’m practically handing you the opportunity to hook up with MILFs, random TAs, and sorority girls,” he begged, making Karl pinch the bridge of his nose.

“That does sound intriguing,” you chimed, making Karl giggle mildly.

Todd’s eyes lit up with a sarcasticness as if you were actually promoting the idea. “You can go instead if you want to, babygirl,” he offered, tilting his head in an action to resemble a car salesman.

You looked to Karl with raised eyebrows and he shook his head in disbelief at the stupidity of whatever banter you and Todd were striking up. “That would be fun! Please, illegally pimp me out instead. I want to be solicited-”

Todd’s hand reached out to clamp over your mouth. “Okay stop.” He straightened his tie and the pin on his lapel in the shape of a number 12. You quietly wondered who were in the top places and what they were doing to be in those spots. “Karl, you’re a legacy dick. Most of those women out there probably hooked up with your family members and are back for more of that sweet sweet Jacobs-”

Karl cut him off gruffly. “-I’ll do it if you don’t finish that sentence and never bring that to my attention again.” Todd pretended to zip his lips before pointing to the pin and walking off. You took the pin in your hands, trying to ignore the shakiness of your fingers as you pinned it onto his jacket. “You know his name is actually Mark, right? He pretended to be a Romney for his first two years here.”

You snorted. “Don’t feed me that information right now.” You wet your lips, feeling his eyes on you as you brushed your hands down his lapels. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to… I was just joking.” You chewed the inside of your cheek. “Like, we can leave if you want,” you offered softly.

Karl chuckled, moving his hands up to rest over yours. “Someone’ll pay fifty bucks to take me to some dodgy hotel for ten minutes. It’ll be okay,” he assured. “Maybe I'll have fun, who knows.” He drew you closer once again. You swore you could get drunk off the intoxicating allure of his breath. “I don’t have to if you don’t want me to.”

You furrowed your brows, suddenly worried about having that conversation with him. “If you’re okay with it, I am,” you answered quietly, sending him a small shrug.

He popped a piece of gum in his mouth, shrugging back at you.

Everyone began to gather around the grand piano in one corner of the living room. You could suddenly feel the heat of the massive fireplace against your bare legs as Karl rested an arm against the wall above you, leaning over you slightly. “How much would you bid on me, if you could?” He whispered as Todd explained some rules to the bidders.

You looked up at him reaching up to play with his lot number. You hummed slightly in mock thought. “Maybe a packet of ramen, a Speedway rewards card, and…” you trailed off before digging into your purse and grabbing a handful of quarters, “five dollars in linty coins?” You joked, sending him an innocent smile.

He bit back a laugh. “I feel like you’re the only one that knows my true value,” he quipped sarcastically.

As the auction began to kick off, men were being bought for various currencies, from picnics in the park to gala dates and etcetera. The tension in your shoulders began to cool as there were fewer ambiguous payments. The women and men that paid sums of money were the ones that worried you the most. Karl’s hand slithered up your back until he reached the back of your neck, pressing his fingers into your skin almost possessively.

You focused on the crowd, trying to notice any peering eyes cutting into Karl, but no one seemed to have the slightest clue. Karl’s fingers worked at a knot in your neck, making you want to moan at his touch. You hated being this close to him and unable to mark him as your own. He pulled you closer, pressing his lips to the skin on your shoulder that wasn’t covered by your dress. “Relax,” he whispered, heat raking through your body at the sound of his voice.

Finally, his number came up. Before the auctioneer could finish introducing him, a handful of sorority girls sparked up with heavy numbers in the air. Your eyes widened and you could feel Karl stiffen behind you at their urgency. As their bids began to grow and add zeros, your heart began to beat in your ears.

“$5000.” Your mouth grew dry as the number halted the noise in the room. Bewilderedly, you searched the room until your eyes landed on a woman in her early-50s. You couldn’t help your mouth slightly fall open. “I’d like to bid $5000,” she repeated. You downed the rest of your Brandy, letting the alcohol sting your throat and warm your stomach. As Karl’s turn closed, your mind went blank. What did I expect to happen? You scorned.

After about an hour, the bidding was over. You plastered on a smile after everyone exited the room, standing before Karl and spending the time you had left letting your mind race with emotion. “What’s wrong?” Karl asked, nudging your arm with his elbow.

You swatted him off. “You excited to spend time with your new mommy?” You chided, making him raise his eyebrows. Your voice came out a bit more condescending than you’d intended.

Something dark flitted across his expression. “Definitely.” He pressed closer to your ear again. “I bet she cums on the slow stroke,” he leered, making you inch away from him. He giggled slightly at his own joke, before noticing your quietness. “What?”

“Nothing,” you mumbled, unable to explain just how you were feeling about the situation. It was as if reality had seeped into your bones at what had happened.

Karl ran his fingers against his bottom lip as he looked at you, the skin flushing a deeper red. You’d seen the color too many times to count, but it was usually due to stimulation from you. “Don’t be like that. What’s going on?” You rolled your eyes, crossing your arms softly. This seemed to only further allure him. “If you’re gonna act like a brat, I’ll start treating you like a brat,” he whispered, perking your attention. You let your eyes wander back to the ground. He took your chin in his hand, forcing you to look at him. His calm expression added arousal to your swimming cauldron of feelings.

You pulled out of his grasp. You bit your tongue, grasping at your thoughts and searching for what you wanted to tell him. His grey irises swirled with some kind of worry and what you could only describe as fondness. Instead, you chickened out. “Just use protection, okay?” You faltered.

His features remained quiet as if in thought. In one swift movement, his hand brushed against your jaw, pressing his lips against yours. Your whole body relaxed into his touch, your eyes closing to relish in the feeling of silent loyalty to you. As his tongue brushed against your lips, it was as if he was stating just what you meant to him. If you weren’t in the right mind, you’d moan a gracious pledge of your mutual devotion into his mouth.

He pulled away shortly, leaving you flushed and winded as he reached his thumb up to swipe away the smearing of your lipstick. “I’m in your fuckin’ pocket, remember?” He acquiesced almost emotionlessly, before dropping his hands and letting you stumble. You had to will your body not to grin at what he’d said as the woman who bid on him approached the two of you.

She shook hands with both of you talking about the thrill of the event and how she’s gone for the last couple of years. “Ma’am, he’s a virgin. Please be careful,” you noted as Karl helped her into her coat. Karl’s eyes shot daggers into you, biting back a laugh of his.

The woman giggled with her whole chest. “Oh, darling. That won’t be an issue,” she gasped as she caught her breath. You covered your mouth with your hand to hide your smile as you made eye contact with an ill-looking Karl.

You opted to head back to your apartment, eyeing the clock each time you get an odd feeling in the pit of your stomach. Your roommate had gone out for the night, leaving you to stew in your own thoughts. As two hours passed, you were beginning to feel phantom notifications from your phone, your heart skipping with faltering hope.

As if your prayers had finally been answered, a brief knock at your door sent you jumping over the back of the couch and tugging on a hoodie before you threw open the door. Karl stood leaning against the frame and cracking his knuckles. He eyed you curiously as he noticed your urgency. His shirt was barely buttoned and untucked, hair ruffled and curling here and there. As you let him into your apartment, your mouth grew dry with anticipation. Karl slumped onto your couch, kicking his feet up on your coffee table and raising an eyebrow at you.

You wet your lips, sitting on the arm of a chair near his side of the couch. “How was it?” You asked. “Did you learn anything?”

He scoffed, humor dancing behind his eyes. “You will never guess where I was.” You furrowed your brows at him as if it wasn’t obvious. To this he shook his head, sitting up to lean his elbows on his knees, reaching forward to pull you into the empty spot beside him. “So, that woman owns an art studio downtown and she holds classes for whoever. The nail polish girl in my art class is like the right-hand man to that woman and she caught wind of the auction,” he paused to loosen a few more of his buttons. “The woman has always gone to the auction, but the girl knew I was participating this year and recommended me.”

“Okay, so… You were in an art class all night?” You probed, making him grin smugly at you.

He ran his fingers through his hair. “Not exactly.”

You snorted, leaning into the cushions and turning towards him. “They weren’t drawing you nude were they?” You joked sarcastically, the mental image proving to be almost unthinkable. His eyes shifted to his lap as he chuckled and you punched his arm. “You’re kidding!”

He shook his head, biting back a grin. “I had old dudes staring at my dick for two hours straight and trying to recreate it in charcoal.” You covered your mouth with your hand, waiting for him to reveal that he was joking. “They liked my cheekbones,” he taunted.

You huffed in disbelief. “Oh my fucking God.” Your mind was utterly blank. “So, you didn’t sleep with anyone?”

He smiled at you. “Nope. You’re still my only one.” Your cheeks flushed at this. “That being said, you were so incredibly immature earlier,” he chided, making your eyebrow perk with discontent.

“Excuse me,” you nearly hissed.

His eyes navigated your body. “Jealous little brat, honestly,” he scoffed. “Make it up to me.” You stared at him blankly, as if unable to comprehend his words. He moved his arms to rest on the back of the couch, letting his legs spread a bit further. You watched him intently as his jaw tensed, looking slightly intimidating as he eyed you. His calm expression started you, gears turning behind his eyes. “Did I stutter?” He nipped.

You climbed onto his lap, letting his hands slip beneath your hoodie as he gripped your hips, pulling you down to grind against his leg. Heat spread across your body at the friction, realizing now just how needy you’d been for most of the night. Funny how you didn’t even think of taking care of yourself without Karl there.

He tugged your collar to the side, pressing his lips against the sensitive skin of your neck, his warm breath a stark contrast to the cool temperature of the room. You felt his teeth glide over the valleys of your collarbones as if threatening to mark you as the brat you were. His brat.

His fingers dug into your skin, his knee bouncing slightly as he pushed you to increase your speed. You moaned against his shoulder, reaching the hand that wasn’t planted securely on his arm towards his belt. The clasp was almost second nature for you, considering the various places and positions you’d been in and wrestling with it.

As you slipped your hand into his pants, he groaned, bucking against your touch as if he'd been hungry for you all night. He rested his hand in the crook of your neck, roughly bringing your lips to his own. Instead of kissing you immediately, his lips brushed against yours, the smell of his breath dancing against your skin and forcing you to want him more as your hips moved to make up for the lack of his taste on your tongue.

Your hand gripped him through his boxers, earning a muffled grunt of pleasure from Karl. His eyes threatened to roll as you began to palm him, his breathing deep and needy. Curses hissed through his teeth, the sound further adding to how turned on you were. "Give me your mouth," he moaned, a demand you were more than happy to fulfill as you slipped onto your knees in front of him. Karl's hand gathered your hair as you tugged his boxers down. Your fingers traced the hem of his dress pants that ran against the inside of his thigh before attending to his arousal once again.

Then something clicked into your mind. "I've been thinking about what Todd said," you began, Karl's reaction dulling as you began to pump your hand around his dick. "About me sleeping with him," you continued, your voice dripping with a venomous innocence.

Karl twitched in your hand, his grip on your hair tightening. You moaned slightly as his eyes hardened. "Tread lightly, pet," he nearly growled. The gruffness of his voice sending goosebumps down your back. "You're on thin fucking ice already."

You looked up at him with doe eyes, crowding his lap. "I wonder if he's bigger than you," you commented.

You seemed to find the last straw rather quickly as Karl grabbed your arms, pulling you up and throwing you on the couch beneath him. "Fucking bitch," he snapped, ripping your underpants down your legs. "And here I was about to make this about you," he chuckled darkly, leaning on his knee to slip his jacket off his shoulders and discard his button-up shirt.

He grabbed your thighs, pulling you towards him before he ground his hips against yours roughly, clashing his lips against yours. He tugged on your hair tightly, tongue pressing into your mouth.

His lips left yours, pulling your hoodie over your head and throwing it across the room before digging his teeth into your chest. You moaned at his efforts, basking in the roughness of his actions. Karl pushed himself into you without warning, and without hesitation, he began to snap his hips into yours. Your thighs tightened around his waist, attempting to adjust to his speed before he hooked one of your legs in the crook of his elbow, pushing it towards your chest.

His hand moved to wrap around your neck possessively, his eyes burning into yours with a mix of lust and glimmers of the sadistic side of him that loved to see you tremble beneath his touch as he restricted your breathing, only for you to gasp for air when he allowed. "Fucking brat," he barked, pounding into you faster. "Bring him up again and I'll make your life miserable," he groaned, spitting into your mouth to illustrate his point.

You let him take his anger out on you as you fought not to grin at the pure sparks of pleasure pulsing through your veins at the view of him completely dominating you. Your eyes fluttered shut, teeth sinking into your bottom lip in an attempt not to cum from the intense stimulation, your fingers digging into the softness of the couch beneath you as you searched for something to anchor yourself.

Karl leaned back slightly, dragging a hand through his hair as he slowed his hips, his eyes glued to yours, the new angle driving him deeper into you. The view of him above you like this oddly reminded you of when the two of you went to parties and spent the night grinding against each other in the massive crowds of your peers to an unidentifiable song.

Any idiot could tell Karl could fuck by the way he danced.

Karl pressed his hips firmly against yours, bucking into you relentlessly once again, pulling your hands above your head and holding your wrists in his fist. He kissed you harshly once again, swallowing your attempts to catch your breath and dragging his teeth across your lips again.

You felt unable to control your orgasm as it raced through you, your moans echoing into Karl's mouth as your body tensed. Karl used your orgasm to ride out the rest of his own pleasure, smirking slightly at your disheveled appearance.

As the air settled, the two of you straighten up the living room, making sure to find each article of clothing so your roommate wouldn't comment. Karl sat back down on the couch, reaching an arm out for you. You raised an eyebrow at him hesitantly, with a small smirk playing on your lips.

He huffed jokingly. "Come on, I can't fuck your brains out and not hug you at least for a bit," he joshed, gesturing for you to join him.

You let out a small laugh. The man with multiple piercings, tattoos, and a glare that can insight nightmares, was always the first to ask to cuddle. You tucked into the spot beneath his arm, letting his grasp tighten around you as you wrapped a blanket around the both of you.

His heartbeat thumped against your ear, making you want to slip into a deep sleep. "I think we should set Todd up with Nail Polish Girl," you joked, breaking into the comfortable silence between the two of you. You glanced up at Karl as you said this, hoping to gauge his reaction as you silently apologized for what you'd said earlier in the name of getting him riled up.

He chuckled shortly. "We should probably straighten ourselves out before we meddle in other people's relationships," he mocked. It'd come out as a light-hearted statement, but it tugged heavily at your nerves.

You pushed yourself to sit up and look at him, suddenly anxious. "What do you mean? We're fine, right?"

Karl smirked. "Well yeah, but sooner or later we're going to have to figure out what we're doing." He wet his lips. "I mean, how much longer are we supposed to just mindlessly hook up."

"We're not mindlessly hooking up. We're friends too," you reasoned, your voice uneven as you attempted to inject humor in your statements, hoping to mask your hesitation.

He rolled his eyes slightly. "Yeah, but don't you want more? Like who do you say I am when your friends ask?" He raised his eyebrows, shortly waiting for a response before continuing. "A booty call, right? Am I supposed to be a booty call forever?"

You were taken aback slightly. His tone wasn't provocative, but that didn't stop your heart from racing. "What are you saying?"

He shrugged. "What does it sound like I'm saying?" He sat up a bit more to angle towards you. "I don't mean now, but eventually I'd like this to mean a bit more."

You stood up from the couch, nearly tripping over the coffee table as you reached for a pair of discarded sweatpants and slipped them on. "This is a lot to think about," you mumbled, unable to make eye contact with him. Your mind raced with the different outcomes of what he was talking about. Also, all of them involved the two of you going stale and him finding comfort in other people. "I mean… what we have now is good. Isn't it?"

Karl stood too, raising his hands slightly as if he were consoling a cornered animal. "I didn't mean to freak you out. I thought we were on the same page?" You rubbed the back of your neck nervously, looking for words. "I- uh. I'm sorry." His hands fisted at his sides awkwardly, his sleeves rolled to his elbows. Sirens wailed from outside your windows, the street becoming the only noise in your apartment as he awaited your next move. "I'm actually… gonna head out. I'll uh… I'll text you later," he stated, grabbing his jacket, gauging your reaction.

Your tongue felt like sandpaper as you chewed the inside of your cheek. "No, uh… I think I need some time…" you trailed, your eyes flashing to his. "... To think…"

He nodded slightly, taking one last look at you before slipping out your front door, the lock clicking shut behind him.

Tag List:

@mrwinemaker @madsbbg @idiotinnit @xxtakechancesxx @chxrrymilkshake @westyywifee @kiritokunuwu

[pan-fangirl-345]

Hidden Panthers

Summary: Soulmarks aren't rare, and neither are soulmates, but what is rare, is a person who doesn't want to meet their soulmate, but Toho Academy has two.

Or: Five times Aomine was curious about your tattoo, and one time he saw it.

TW: a small amount of angst, I suppose one part might be comparable to a panic attack, and some swearing, but I promise it's mostly fluff.

A/N: I had an idea! Since I have no requests currently in my inbox, I thought I would jot it down before I forgot about it.

1.

"You guys do realize that you should be practicing, right?" you asked when you walked into the gym and the boys were all shirtless, showing off their soulmarks.

"They're trying to prove who's is the biggest," Momoi informed you, making you snort.

You were almost one hundred percent certain that you had them all beat, except for maybe Aomine.

Your soulmark was a special image somewhere on your body, and animal, a place, something like that. They were colorful, and looked like tattoos.

The mark on your body corresponded with the one on your soulmate's body.

You knew that Aomine had your matching tattoo, not that he knew that, and that was okay.

The black ink of his tattoo was stark against his tan skin, but you knew that he wasn't showing it off with pride, it was him just proving a point.

Top dog on the team, biggest soulmark, he was unbeatable.

Aomine had made it clear that he didn't appreciate the thought of soulmates, that he was fine with not knowing who they were, not knowing who you were, in your case.

"What's yours (Y/L/N)-kun?" one of the boys asked and you snorted, a hand flying to cover your mouth, sometimes you hated hanging around teenage boys all the time, it made your mind go to weird places sometimes.

"Sorry boys, you don't want to see my mark, trust me," you muttered, touching your shoulder softly.

Aomine's eyes were on you, burning a hole through your body, but you ignored him.

"What is it?"

"None ah," you said.

"None ah?"

"None ah ya business," you replied, dropping your bag by the bench.

The boys peeled off into laughter, and Momoi gave a small giggle.

You smiled softly, tugging your sweatshirt off.

The boys were getting to practice, though Aomine was still watching you, watching you with those startling blue eyes.

"Are you going to practice or are you going to just stare at me like a creep?" you asked, crossing your arms over your chest, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Nah," he muttered, moving to head out the door, but you moved in front of him.

"Nope, you're here," you told him, throwing your arms out. "If you're here, you're practicing, even if that means you have to practice with me."

Aomine squinted at you, and you were 99% certain that he was going to try and shove you out of the way, but he sighed, heading back to work in drills with the other boys.

Momoi was watching you, eyes glinting in the way they did when she watching a game and her data was proved correct.

"Momoi-san," you said, "why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's just a hunch," she murmured, wandering off to watch Aomine play.

You frowned after her, wondering what the hell she was talking about, but you shook it off.

Those two were weirdos.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2.

"So, (Y/L/N), what's your soulmark?" one of your friends asked, and you sighed.

"It's nothing all that impressive," you lied, flipping the page of the textbook you were skimming through.

"But what is it?" she persisted.

"A pain in my ass," you muttered, touching your shoulder lightly again.

"(Y/L/N)-kun," one of your classmates said, "one of the basketball boys is waiting for you outside."

"Thanks," you replied, gathering your stuff up.

You were a back-up manager for when Momoi was away watching other teams play.

You were surprised to find Aomine leaning up against the doorframe, practice clothes on.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey yourself. Are you actually going to practice again?" you asked, hauling your bag over your shoulder, wincing at the weight.

He made a small noise, which made you think that that was his version of a yes.

"Why don't you show off your mark?" Aomine asked.

"Why don't you?" you replied, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Soulmates are bullshit," he muttered. "I don't like being told what to do. I hate being told who to love even more."

"My soulmate doesn't want me," you admitted after a moment of walking, readjusting your bag on your shoulders. "No point in showing off something that symbolizes someone who hates that I even exist."

Aomine paused, running his eyes over you again, and you glanced back at him.

"What?"

He didn't answer, he just stood there watching you. He had been doing that a lot, and you were a little worried about it.

"Are you coming or what?" you asked, heading for the gym.

He followed behind you, eyes boring into your back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3.

"What's your soulmark?" Aomine asked.

You had gone to the roof to tell him to get his ass to practice. He had been coming more and more often, but he had been staring at you for most of it, despite urging from both you and Momoi to actually practice.

"Nothing important, not like you practicing," you deflected, standing in front of him with your arms crossed.

"Snippy," he quipped. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

"Perv," you muttered. "And I've already seen your mark."

"Yours is on your shoulders, right?" he asked. "You keep touching them whenever someone brings them up."

"Yeah, it's a pretty big one," you admitted, reaching to touch your shoulder absentmindedly before you registered that you were doing it. You dropped your hands to your sides again, frowning.

Despite the fact that you already knew your soulmate, and how he felt about the whole thing, the mark was still comforting to a degree.

Aomine was still watching you, he had been doing it a lot, though you weren't entirely sure why. Every time he did, it jump started your heart, making you wonder if he knew.

He made a small noise, then dragged himself to his feet.

"Gotta go to practice," he mumbled, bumping shoulders with you as he headed down to the gym.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4.

Aomine started appearing more and more after that. He wasn't following you exactly, but it was almost like your schedules had overlapped.

Then you had gotten assigned to do a group project together.

"Nice place," he muttered when he walked through the door into your home.

"Thanks," you said, shutting the door. "I'm telling you this right now, Aomine, I am not doing this entire project by myself, and if I do end up doing it by myself, you are not getting your name put on this. Do you understand me?"

"Yes ma'am," he muttered. "Do you have any bread?"

"What?" you asked, then you remembered his weird carb obsession. "Uh, yeah, just . . . give me a minute," you said, setting your things down on the couch before you headed into the kitchen.

Snacks were something you could do.

You got him a drink too, and when you set a plate and a drink down in front of him, he glanced up at you appreciatively.

"Thanks," he said.

"No problem," you told him, sitting beside him on the couch.

"What are we doing the project on?" he asked.

"I have no idea," you muttered. "It would be easy to do a keynote or something, but there are going to be so many people doing that."

You pulled the project requirements out of your bag, your eyes flitting over it.

"What if we did like a . . . a soulmark examination?" you asked. "We were reading a book about how people think soulmarks mean something to the pair that share it instead of simply being an indicator, right? All we would have to do it take a picture of one of our soulmarks and make up some sort of metaphorical bullshit and make it look pretty when we present it."

"We should do yours," Aomine immediately suggested.

"Why mine?" you asked, panic starting to float into your veins.

"Because I want to know what it is," he replied, grinning at you.

"How about we do yours? You have your own fan club and I'm sure they'd be ecstatic to know what it is. Besides, yours is easier to do than mine," you told him.

"How so?"

"Mine is across my back," you informed him. "That means that I would have to take off my shirt and my bra for us to get a picture, and there are so many things that could go wrong with that. Besides, it's not like anyone in the class hasn't seen your back already, it's not new information."

"Fair enough," Aomine said. "But, when I get fakers pretending to be my soulmate, you have to be the one to fight them off."

"Deal," you said, holding your hand out to him.

He took it, shaking it firmly once, before he tugged his shirt over his head.

"Let's get this over with," he muttered, curling his shoulders forward so that you could get a clear picture of the black panther lounging across his shoulders like it was a tree branch.

You snapped a couple photos from different angles, and resisted the urge to touch it.

It was the same as yours, and you wondered vaguely if you had ever found your tattoo as beautiful as you found Aomine's.

"We good?" Aomine asked.

"Yeah, we're good," you croaked, then cleared your throat as he pulled his shirt over his head again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5.

Your project had gotten a great grade, and you were both proud of it, but now Aomine seemed to be hellbent on figuring out what your mark was.

"Just show me!" he'd whined.

He'd been up on the roof again, and you had been charged with getting him off the roof and down to practice.

"No, Aomine. Now get off your ass and get down to practice," you told him, arms crossed.

You had been in this position for the past couple of weeks, and it was almost routine now.

"I won't even be a dick about it," he had promised you, his eyes looking almost sincere as he pleaded with you. Almost.

Aomine, you had learned, had adopted you as a friend, in the last few weeks of being stuck around him.

You and Momoi had started walking to class together, and Aomine had started trailing behind like a lazy guard dog, much to the chagrin of Momoi's many suitors.

"He really likes you," Momoi said one morning.

"Oh yeah?" you asked, chuckling.

"He hasn't liked someone like this in a while," Momoi told you. "He's a long time basketball junkie, so seeing him take an interest in someone that doesn't have much of a connection to the game is a relief to me."

"Momoi, I thought we agreed that you wouldn't profile me," you told her, giving her a small smile.

"I can't help it," she whined, taking a hold of your arm. "You have to tell him (Y/F/N)!"

"Sorry Momoi-san, I can't do that," you replied. "He doesn't want that."

"How do you know if you won't tell him?" she asked, pouting.

"Momoi-san, he's made his stance on soulmates exceedingly clear, and he likes me now because he doesn't know. I want it to stay that way. I'd rather be a friend than anything else. Besides, he doesn't like me like that," you informed her.

"I've been friends with him since we were kids," she said, glancing at you with those eyes. "I think I know when he's interested in a girl."

You snorted, but your conversation tapered off when Aomine joined you again.

"Seriously, what the hell is your soulmark?" Aomine demanded. "I have asked literally everyone I can think of that might know. No one in this entire fucking school seems to know what it is."

"Sorry Aomine," you said, slipping into your classroom, throwing a grin over your shoulder at him. "A girl needs to keep her secrets, besides, you aren't the only one with a soulmark thing."

His growl resonated into the classroom and you chuckled lightly as you sat down at your desk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

+1

Of course, the one time the teams tries to do some team bonding they chose to go to the fucking beach.

Of course, Aomine had also been the one to suggest the beach. The others thought it was because he wanted to see girls in bikini's, but he had glanced at you and winked.

He wanted to see what your mark was.

"I hate you," you snarled, cornering him, before he left for his house. "You scheming son of a bitch."

"Such vulgar words," he teased, giving you a dark look. "And I have no idea what I could've done to make you hate me, baby girl."

"You know exactly what you did," you growled, ignoring the pet name. "The whole beach thing was your idea."

He grinned, and you suddenly understood why your mark was a panther.

Something flashed through you, and your let your own grin show through.

"You want to play games Aomine-kun?" you teased, keeping eye contact with him. "Fine, then let's play."

"What do I get if I win?" he asked.

"You'll have to choose that for yourself, if you win," you told him, storming out of the doors.

When the day came to go to the beach, nothing was out of the ordinary, save that the boys had decided that one of them had to be with you and Momoi at all times.

"You guys don't need to babysit us," you chided when you climbed onto the bus. "We tend to stick together anyway, and pervs, unless they're in groups, tend to pick the girl that splits away from the pack. Momoi-san and I can stick together and reduce the risk. This is more for you guys than it is for us anyway."

"Yeah, we don't need a guard dog," Momoi agreed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'll stay with them," Aomine offered, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and Momoi's, and you rolled your eyes.

"You just want to know what my soulmark is," you told him, glancing up at him.

"Wait," Sakurai murmured, "even Aomine doesn't know what your soulmark is?"

"Nope," you said, popping the 'p'. "He's been trying to figure it out for weeks now. That's why he suggested going to the beach."

"You clever son of a bitch," the captain said, and you shrugged.

"He and I have a small little wager going," you admitted, shrugging his arm off your shoulders. "If I can keep my soulmark hidden from him for the whole day today, he drops it."

"And if he wins?"

"She's being cryptic about that," Aomine said, and his eye twitched lightly.

"If he sees it, he can decide what he gets for winning," you told them. "He'll understand if he sees it."

And so the game began.

"Are you going swimming, (Y/F/N)?" Momoi asked you.

"Are you?" you asked her.

"No, I want to work on my tan," she admitted, waving a small bottle of tanning lotion.

"Then I'll stay with you. I have some reading I need to catch up on anyway. Besides, I want the sunscreen to sink in, I burn easily," you admitted, having applied it as soon as you got to the beach.

You were wearing a one-piece bathing suit (since it was harder for something to happen with one on), but you had thrown a thin white crop top on over it to cover your shoulders.

After Momoi asked you to get her back, you settled onto your towel, pulling your assigned literature book out of your bag, finding your page.

"Seriously, why don't you just show us what the damn thing is?" Aomine asked, settling down next to you forcefully.

"Because it's a part of my body, meaning I can show it off when I want, or cover it up when I want. Besides, I told you earlier, my soulmate doesn't want me," you said, flipping your page leisurely. "Don't need them hating me more than they already do without knowing my identity."

Aomine was clearly displeased, but it wasn't like he could argue with you about it, soulmarks were a very personal thing to some people.

"You're at the beach," he began a few minutes later, tone incredulous, "and you're reading a book. What is wrong with you?"

"A lot, which issue are you referring to?" you asked nonchalantly before he scowled at you. "I don't feel like going into the water," you told him, glaring at him over your sunglasses. "I have work to do, and this is a good time to catch up on it. Besides, shouldn't you be with the rest of the team? This was for you guys."

Aomine scowled, but stood up, heading for where the team was playing a game of beach volleyball. Or, they were attempting, none of them seemed to be having much luck with it.

"You know, not very many people can keep Dai-chan at bay as much as you're able to," Momoi said, making you snort.

"You just have to know how to deal with it. You can do it."

"But not for long, and not once he makes up his mind about something. You've kept him at bay for months, I've never been able to do that. My top score is a week."

"Does it bother you?" you asked quietly.

"No, not at all," she said, a little too quickly. "Okay, well, it bothers me a little. I've known him since we were kids, and you can handle him better than I can just after a few months, but I know why."

"Honestly Momoi, I don't think it's because we're soulmates, because he doesn't know. I think it's just I refuse to let him win at all."

"You two are definitely two of the most stubborn people I have ever met," she agreed, rolling over onto her stomach.

"I'm not sure whether that's a compliment or not," you muttered.

Momoi giggled and you smiled. It was nice, hanging out with her. It was nice to have a female friend.

"I'm a little peckish, do you want a pretzel or something from the concessions thing?" you asked, gesturing to the snack shack type thing that they had set up a few meters away.

"No, I'm all set, thank you though," she said.

"Alright, just thought I'd ask," you told her, standing up, wiping sand off your legs as you headed over with your wallet.

You dodged a pair of kids that looked like twins, who were trying to splash each other with water, and you laughed as one of them tackled the other.

"Idiot, you can't just wander off," Aomine chided as he sidled up next to you.

"I didn't," you pointed out. "I told Momoi where I was going."

Aomine frowned, glaring at a guy that stepped too close for his comfort.

"The point of this trip was so that the team could bond," you told him, "so that means that you should be over there with the team."

"You're a part of the team too right?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at you.

"Technically, yes, but I'm talking about the part of the team that plays on the court. I just tend to make sure that your ass shows up."

You glanced at Aomine, who was frowning.

"Out with it," you demanded, glancing around as you walked to make sure neither of you bumped into anyone.

"Does your mark make you uncomfortable?" he asked, carefully choosing his words.

"No," you admitted. "It's comforting actually, but there's no point in showing it off. Besides, it makes my back really hot when I'm out in the sun. That makes me uncomfortable."

You placed your order, which consisted of a fruity drink on ice and a small snack that would hold you over until lunch.

"What have you eaten today?" he asked.

"Nothing. I had coffee this morning and then left the house. I don't normally eat breakfast," you told Aomine.

"How are you alive?"

"Have you taken health classes?"

"Not what I meant, asshole," he snapped. "You're gonna run yourself into the ground."

"Aomine, I'm fine," you assured him. "Besides, I'm drinking plenty of fluids."

He frowned, but he seemed to realize it was useless to argue with you about it.

"Go back to the team, Aomine, I'm fine," you told him, shoving him towards where the boys were sitting in the sand.

You tossed your snack wrapper in a garbage can that was placed strategically, glad for the little bit of food in your stomach.

But then the kids ran by again, and one of them got you instead of their brother.

"Sorry!" he called, darting away.

Normally you wouldn't have minded, the water felt nice against your skin, but you knew that your cover-up would start to be see through, and with the breeze blowing off the water, it was sticking to your back.

You sighed, slipping it over your head as you headed for your towel.

After drying your shoulders off, you set your shirt out to dry, then began rooting around in your bag for your backup, before remembering that you had forgotten to put it in your bag before you left.

"Fuck," you muttered, glancing at where Aomine and the other boys were chatting.

You supposed that it was fine for now, but you would have to be careful if they came back over.

"Momoi, please, for the sake of our friendship, you can't say anything to the boys about this," you said when she looked over and saw your back.

"Why are you so worried about him finding out?" she asked, carefully running a hand over your back, tracing the lines of the mark.

"Because, he might be a dick, but he's a friend, and I don't want to lose that friendship because of some dumb cosmic presence that decided we were meant for one another."

"Do you love him?" she inquired.

You licked your lips, then pursed them.

"Do you love him?" she repeated.

You waited for a few moments before you confessed, "I might. Whether it's love or a crush, I can't say for sure."

She sucked in a breath.

"What?" you asked.

"You know that he likes you back, right?" she asked quietly. "You know that it has nothing to do with the Mark. It's not like he's seen it and knows that you're the woman he's going to marry."

"He'll hate me if he finds out."

"No, he won't."

"I think he will."

"How long are you going to keep this from him?" she demanded. "He at least deserves to know that you're an option!"

"I'll wait until he's married if I have to," you snapped, making her rear back. "Satsuki, in the end, this is my choice to make, and I've made it. He can't know."

"It's his decision too," she reminded you. "This isn't a one way street!"

"Right now, it is," you snarled. Then you softened your tone. "If I'm ever put in a situation where he finds out, I will let him make his own decision, but right now, it's my decision, the ball is in my court so to speak, and this is the move I'm making."

"I think it's the wrong move," she whispered.

"Luckily, it's not your move to make," you replied. "I don't mean to be cruel, Satsuki. I want him to be happy. I just don't think that he'd be happy with . . . me."

"How are you so sure?" she demanded, looking close to tears. "How are you so sure that knowing you're his soulmate would make him miserable? Why can't you accept the possibility that maybe him knowing would make him love you even more?"

You remembered all the times he had raved to you about how soulmates were bullshit. You remembered every vehement denial that he wanted to know who his soulmate was. Every venomous word and the pure hatred in his eyes.

If he looked like that just because of the idea, how would he react to the real thing? Something physical he could take his anger out on?

You highly doubted that Aomine would ever physically hurt you, but the idea still sent a shiver up your spine, despite the warm weather.

"Call it a gut feeling," you murmured, wrapping your arms around yourself.

"I just want you both to be happy," she whispered.

"I can't speak for him," you told her, "but I'm content with the way things are right now."

"Content and happy aren't always the same thing," she argued.

Something in your eyes must've told her that you weren't in the mood, because she sighed, going back to her tanning.

You laid on your back, trying to think of ways to hide the mark, but it took up the entire expanse of your shoulder blades, there was no way to hide it unless it was completely covered with a shirt or you laid on it.

"Momoi-san, (Y/L/N)-san, do you wanna come play two truths and a lie with us?" Sakurai asked.

"Sure, I would love to," Momoi said.

"What about you?"

You paused, thinking it over, before you grabbed your shirt, throwing it over your head after beating most of the sand out of it, making sure that no one saw it.

It wouldn't do much, you didn't think, but it would make you feel better all the same.

"Okay," you murmured, wandering over to fit in the circle with the boys.

They had decided that the person to their right was going to have to guess which was the lie, and you despaired to find that Aomine was on your right.

"Since the girls have now decided to join, new score," the captain said and you winced.

"Ladies first," Aomine said, giving you one of those glances that made you want to kiss him and punch him at the same time.

You decided to find a good compromise and you pinched his arm, hard.

"Okay," you murmured, trying to think. "One: when I was six, I popped my elbow out of my socket throwing a tantrum. Two: I have more than five dresses in my closet. Three: my music selection has a disturbing amount of love songs."

The others started whispering amongst themselves, and Aomine squinted at you.

"Number two has to be the lie. I've seen your music selection, and you mentioned the arm injury when you first became the manager," Aomine declared confidently.

"Wrong," you told him, grinning. "I have six dresses in my closet. I wasn't throwing a tantrum when I popped my elbow out of my socket. I fell off the monkey bars at the park."

Aomine glowered at you, and you laughed.

"You're just shitty at paying attention."

The boys were surprisingly bad at this game, either that or you were just good at guessing when someone was lying.

"One: I hate cherry lip gloss. Two: I can play the guitar. Three: I've never had a celebrity crush."

"Every girl has a celebrity crush," Aomine muttered, but then glanced back at you, frowning. "I say one is the lie."

"Nope! I can't play the guitar. I was taking lessons until I was eleven but I can't remember any of it."

"Wow, despite how much time you guys spend together, you really don't know much about her, do you Aomine?"

"Shut up," he mumbled, cheeks flushing.

Momoi, who was situated on your left, seemed to be very concerned with how good you were at guessing hers.

"That's the sixth one in a row that you've guessed right!" Satsuki cried, and you laughed.

"Sorry Momoi-san, but you're just very transparent and I'm too competitive to lose."

Aomine hadn't managed to guess any of yours, and you could feel him simmering beside you.

"Alright, since Aomine sucks at this, and (Y/F/N) is simply too good, let's change it up a little."

Suddenly, they were all going against you.

"I take it back, we all suck at this," Imayoshi muttered a few rounds later when they had yet to get one right.

"Sorry guys, I'm just good at hiding things," you said. "Remember, I've been hiding my soulmark from you all since the beginning of the year."

"That's it!" Satsuki cried, pointing at you, making you jerk towards Aomine to get away from her. "If we can get one right, just one, then you have to show us your soulmark!"

You wanted to decline, you wanted to act your way out of it, you knew what would happen if you lost, but that glint in her eyes made you want to prove her wrong.

"Deal," you told her.

"Okay, think about your answers carefully," Aomine said.

"Shouldn't they be saying that to you?" you asked him as you thought of something to say.

After listening to the ocean for a moment, you said, "One: I sleep like a baby during thunderstorms. Two: snapping turtles scare me to death. Three: I have a college age reading level."

Everyone started deliberating, and you smiled, leaning back, soaking in the sun.

"We have an answer," Imayoshi said, and you cracked open an eye.

"Shoot," you told them, sitting up.

"It's number two," he said.

The blood drained from your face.

You knew that they had taken a wild guess, but you hadn't expected them to get it right.

You took a deep breath, closed your eyes, and nodded, not trusting your voice.

You took another steadying breath as you stood up, brushing yourself off, trying to control the shaking in your hands that was slowly spreading up your arms.

You vaguely heard Imayoshi telling you that you didn't have to, that you had the right to say no.

You wanted to take the out he was giving you. You wanted to act your way out of it, you wanted to try and run, and you wanted to tell them that you backed out but . . . .

But you had been keeping this to yourself for a very long time. And you wanted to know sooner rather than later whether Satsuki was right or not. You wanted to know whether this was as terrible as your mind was making it out to be.

You got a firm grip on your shirt, and you were about to lift it off, but suddenly Aomine was in front of you, his hands covering yours as he stared you down.

His eyes were boring into yours, and his hands were firm, but gentle, in their grip.

He was telling you that you didn't have to, that as much as he pried, he wasn't going to let you feel pressured into doing this.

You stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before you shook your head, lips pressed together in a hard line.

"You deserve to know," you whispered, barely able to keep your voice from shaking.

Aomine nodded, slowly moving his hands, before he settled back down where he had been.

You took one last, steadying breath, turning your back to your team.

You tugged the shirt over your head, pulling the straps of your suit to the side so that they could see the expanse of the mark across your back.

Your entire team was silent as they realized what they were seeing.

"Holy shit," someone breathed, though you weren't sure who it was.

"I'm sorry," you whispered, though you weren't entirely sure who you were apologizing to.

Momoi was suddenly in front of you, pulling the straps of your bathing suit back up.

"(Y/F/N), you're shaking," she murmured.

"I know," you told her.

"He's gone," she informed you, and you collapsed into the sand, letting out a shaky breath you hadn't known you were holding.

"How pissed with me is he?" you asked her.

"I-I don't know," she confessed. "I've . . . I've never not been able to read him. He . . . he was completely blank. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," you murmured, staring at the sand in front of you. "I should have taken the out. I should have stayed home. I knew what he was trying to do. I knew that you wanted me to tell him. I knew how he would react. And a small, foolish part of me dared to hope that I was wrong. A small, naive, stupid, masochistic part of me believed that it wouldn't matter. I should know by now that I'm rarely wrong about this kind of thing."

"But I know him!" Satsuki said, looking close to tears. "I know how he looks at you! I see the little things! I don't why he . . . ."

"Don't worry about it Satsuki," you told her, standing up, turning to your team. "Sorry guys."

You headed for your spot, gathering up your things, making sure that you had everything that you had come with, just to give yourself something to focus on.

"Are you going to be okay?" Sakurai asked.

You saw that the whole team, save one member, was standing there in various states of shock, anger, and something akin to pity.

"I knew it would happen eventually," you murmured, then told them, "I'll survive. I'll be myself at practice on Monday, promise. Have a good rest of your weekend guys."

You dug your phone out of your pocket when you were far enough away from the team.

"Hello?"

"Taiga, hey, can you come pick me up?" you asked. "Something went down with Aomine."

"I'm on my way," he said. "Hold tight. Wait, where are you?"

You sent him your location, heading for the parking lot.

By the time Kagami actually found you, you were pretty sure you had cried yourself out.

You didn't remember crying, but Kagami had taken one look at you and wiped at your cheeks.

You had gone with Aomine when he had challenged Kagami at the street court, and you had stayed in touch with the red-head slowly becoming friends with each other.

He knew about your mark as well, though he had promised to keep it to himself. He hadn't told Kuroko either, which surprised you.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"He knows," you admitted, letting him wrap an arm around your shoulders. "He saw it."

As you explained what happened, Kagami got quieter and quieter, and when you glanced at his face, you were surprised to see a serious amount of anger on his face.

"Taiga?" you asked quietly.

"I'll murder him," Kagami growled. "He's such a fuckin'-!"

"You don't have to murder him," you told the red-head, who looked shocked at your response.

"But-!"

"No, I knew it was going to happen. I knew that I would lose him, I was just trying to hold on for a little longer. He hasn't done anything wrong," you said. "I guess that means that I don't have to hide it anymore."

"He's an idiot," Kagami declared.

"I already knew that though."

"Did he even explain himself to you?"

"No. But he doesn't need to. I already know that he doesn't want me. I knew when he started pawing around about my mark. I knew, but I didn't stop him. I led myself to this point."

"Stop taking responsibility for him being a dick!" Kagami snapped. "Do you realize how many people would kill to have you as a soulmate? Or to have one like you?"

"That's not the point!" you told him. "The point is that the one person I want to want me as a soulmate, doesn't. And there's nothing I can do to fix that! Because he seemed to like me just fine thinking I wasn't anything special to him, but the moment fate steps in, I'm fucked. So unless there's a way to pretend like this mark isn't a permanent reminder that the guy that's supposed to be perfect for me, hates my guts, then I guess this is my life now!"

"Kuroko is so much better at this than I am," Kagami muttered to himself. "Look, have you tried calling him?"

"He made it pretty clear that he wanted nothing to do with me."

"Try it anyway."

"I think I'm good. My heart's been broken enough today, thanks."

"Seriously, this is fucking insane," Kagami stressed, opening a door for you. "From what I've seen, your the one person he actually listens to and hears."

"Because he didn't know what I was! I took advantage of that, and now I'm paying the price for it. I should have just told him and dealt with the consequences when I didn't want him! Now it hurts that much more and I have to watch us go back to being strangers. Maybe I should just transfer."

"Um, (Y/F/N)," Kagami said, tapping your shoulder.

"No, I'm serious! Why torture the team with our angst when I can just move schools? There are plenty in the area. Maybe I could move to Seirin. My parents-"

"(Y/F/N)!" he hissed, turning your head to look at something.

"Fuck," you muttered, locking eyes with Aomine, who had his hands thrown up like he had been using them to make a point to Kuroko, who was glancing back and forth between the two of you.

Kagami dropped his hands from your face and you took the opportunity.

You turned and bolted from the Seirin gym.

You should have been paying attention. You should have made Kagami take you home, you should've asked where you were going before.

Multiple people shouted after you, but you ignored them.

You had to get away from him, you had to make sure that he didn't think you were trying to-

Do what?

You slowed down with a sudden realization. If your life had been a cartoon there would've been breaking sound effects and skid marks behind you.

Why should you care what he thought when you had walked into that gym? He didn't care anymore, not now that he knew what you were, why should you?

Fuck what he thought!

If he wanted to let you go, who gave a fuck what it seemed like? You were friends with Kagami, and by default, Kuroko.

How were you supposed to know that he would go to Kuroko after this sort of thing?

Was it really that weird, that wrong, for you to do what you had just done?

You took a deep breath, letting yourself relax. You were probably over thinking things yet again.

A street court caught your eye and you stared at it for a few moments before heading over.

Someone had left a ball there, whether from pure forgetfulness, or a trust in humanity that someone wouldn't take it.

You pushed on it, checking the air, before you dribbled it around.

You could have gotten on a team if you had wanted, but after middle school, you had had enough of the inter-team drama, and had decided to give it up. So you had managed the boys team to be close to the sport without having to deal with a lot of the drama.

You practiced with them sometimes, when Momoi was managing and you had nothing better to be doing.

You made a few lay-ups, a few foul shots, and moved onto half court shots, soaking in the sound of the ball falling through the net.

The heat of the day was soaking through your t-shirt, soaking into the mark, and you touched it lightly, wondering what you were going to do on Monday.

You had promised the team that you would be back to normal, but would you be able to fake being okay well enough to fool them? How much would it take to fool Aomine into thinking that you were okay?

"Why him?" you asked yourself, tilting your face up to the sun. "Why did it have to be him? It could have been literally anyone else, and you chose the one guy that would never be able to love me for what I am, for what we are."

A breeze rustled the trees around you and you breathed it in, moving to leave when you caught sight of him standing in the entrance of the court.

"Shit," you muttered, looking for another way out. There was no chance that he hadn't seen you, even Aomine wasn't that much of an idiot, but you were seriously considering climbing the fence to get away when he spoke.

"I'm sorry," he started.

"No, stop, I don't want your apology," you told him, wrapping your arms around yourself, not able to look at him. "You have nothing to apologize for. I knew when I made that damn deal that I was risking our friendship, I was just tired of having to hide the damn thing. You of all people realize how much of a pain in the ass it is to cover up. And now that I think about it, it's probably better that this happened now. I can't imagine how badly it would've been if I had gotten even closer to you.

"Besides, now you're free to make your own decision. Satsuki got what she wanted in the end. Go figure, I guess. Anyway, you don't have to worry about it. You won't have to worry about me doing anything now that you know. And I already told you that if you won you would get to decide what you got for winning. You won't have to deal with me after this, I promise. I'll disappear since that's what you want."

"So when you told me I got to choose, you were basically telling me that I could choose whether I wanted you or not?"

"Yeah, pretty much, and I shouldn't've. I already knew which one you were going to choose, I was just being naive."

"That's not how it works dumbass," Aomine said.

You screwed your eyes shut, turning your head away from him.

"I know," you whispered. "Why are you even here?"

"I was looking for you, obviously," he grumbled.

"Why? I already know that you don't want this, you made that abundantly clear with your stories and reactions to me at the beach. What are you trying to do here, Aomine?"

"Trying to tell you that I like you," he stated. "But you keep trying to push me away."

"Huh?" Your eyes flew open at the words, and you stared at him.

"Idiot," he murmured, walking over.

You backed up, trying to keep the distance but he backed you against the fence.

"Do you want me to be honest with you?" he asked softly.

You nodded, wondering what the hell he was doing.

"I might be in love with you, and not because you're my soulmate," he said, which made you cock your head in confusion.

"But . . . all that stuff you said about hating soulmates and not wanting to meet yours . . . ."

"I didn't think you were my soulmate moron," he murmured, reaching out to toy with your hair. "I'm okay with it being you. I'm grateful for it actually."

The look on your face must've said it all because he sighed.

"You should've told me sooner," he told you. "I want to go out with you. No secrets, no lies, no weird games where I'm trying to get you to take your clothes off."

"You had me until that last one," you muttered, taking the hand that was playing with your hair.

He laced your fingers together before you could take your hand away.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it," he told you, wrapping his other arm around your waist. "So what do you say? Go out with me?"

You watched his face as much as you could in the crappy lighting, waiting for any sign that he was joking, waiting for him to yell 'Psych!' and walk away.

But his arm stayed wrapped around your waist, and he seemed too busy watching you to question what was taking you so long.

"If I say yes, am I going to be the laughing stock of the school?" you asked.

"No, I may be a dick, but I'm not that mean," Aomine told you.

"Okay," you whispered. "Yeah, I'll go out with you."

The smile Aomine gave you could've lit the whole court.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I hope you realize that Kagami and Tetsu think we're both crazy now," Aomine said.

"They already knew," you told him, wrapping an arm around his neck. "You have to be crazy to put up with the both of them."

Aomine snorted, nudging your forehead with his.

"I'm sorry that I ran from you," he said. "I shouldn't have done that."

You waited, sensing that he had more to say, he was just gathering his thoughts.

"I don't know what I was thinking," he muttered. "I just had to get away from my own stupidity I guess. I should have guessed that I was your soulmate. You were so on edge whenever I brought it up, but when someone else brought it up it was more like you were sick of the questions. I know you enough to know that if you reacted differently to me that it was because of me. I just . . . I acted on instinct."

"You don't have to explain anything to me Aomine," you told him, burying a hand in his hair. It was softer than you had thought it would be.

"No, you deserve an explanation. I am the whole reason you're even at Seirin."

"I was at Seirin because I wanted to talk to Kagami and that was where we ended up. We could have just as easily gone to his place or to mine."

"Tetsu's been trying for years to get me into the whole 'soulmate' thing, so he was the first person I thought of that could me explain what the fuck was going on. I wasn't upset that it was you, I was upset because you hid it from me and that you thought I was going to flip out about it. I mean, I did, but just not the way you expected."

"I figured you would yell at me, maybe push me around a little bit," you confessed. "I didn't think you were going to run like your ass was on fire to go talk to Kuroko."

"I wouldn't hurt you, for multiple reasons, the main one being I like you."

"I know, but the mind is a strange thing, and mine has a tendency to think worst case scenario first."

He hummed, and you saw the tension melt from his shoulders.

"Come on, let's get out of here," you told him. "Maybe you could go practice with Taiga and Kuroko."

"I want bread, we should go to a coffee shop or something," he suggested.

"Actually, yeah, that's a better idea," you agreed. "I really don't feel like explaining to Seirin what this whole thing was about. I'll call Taiga and explain, how about you call Momoi-san and tell her that everything's okay, 'cause she was really worried when I left."

"Yeah, I got it," he murmured, digging his phone out of his pocket, but he didn't unwrap his arm from around your waist.

"Hey, Taiga," you said when he picked up his phone.

"Where the hell are you, idiot?" Kagami asked.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you even more. Everything's fine now. Aomine kinda cornered me in a street ball court."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, we worked things out. You don't have to worry about it, I promise. We're gonna go to a coffee shop somewhere nearby. I'll call you when I get home so that you know that I got back safely."

"Alright, but if he starts being a dick again, just give me a call."

"I will, thanks for everything Taiga," you told him, ending the call.

It wasn't really explaining things, but you could always tell him about it later, which you were probably going to have to do.

"-fine, Satsuki," Aomine was saying, looking exasperated. "She wants to talk to you."

"Hi Momoi-san," you said when he handed you his phone.

"(Y/F/N)! Are you okay? Where are you?"

"Momoi-san, breathe," you ordered, laughing. "I'm fine. Aomine and I worked things out, I promise."

"Are you dating? Because if you aren't then that's not working things out!" she cried.

"Momoi-san, we worked things out," you assured her.

"So you're dating then?"

You pursed your lips and glanced at Aomine.

"You'll find out soon enough I suppose," you told her, hanging up before she could say anything else to you.

"I think she likes you more than she likes me," he said, and you could hear the repressed pout.

"Nah, you'll always be Dai-chan to her," you told him. "You're her best friend, I just happen to be someone she needs to like because of my affiliation with you."

"You make it sound like this is some sort of business thing," Aomine whined, wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

"I'm not used to you liking me, Aomine, you're going to have to let me adjust to this. I have been deliberately avoiding the fact that I like you all year."

"Fair enough," he muttered. "But don't expect me to be all conservative about this."

"What's this?" you asked him.

"Us, the fact that you agreed to go out with me."

"I retain all rights to pretend like I don't know you if you get too dramatic," you warned him, which made him scoff, like he wasn't expecting you to go through with it.

"Bold of you to assume that I'm joking," you said, letting his arm slip off your shoulders and he paused.

"You can't be serious," he muttered.

You kept walking.

"(Y/F/N)? You aren't serious right?" he called after you, slight panic in his voice when you didn't turn around.

"Right?" he asked.

[currymariana]

The tear in my heart (Prologue)

Paring: Bruce Wayne x Reader

Summary: Detective Y/L/N is the youngest yet the most skilled detective in Gotham’s Police, being one of the few James Gordon trusts with Batman stuff. After some time working closely to the Bat, Y/N starts to get the vigilante’s attention. But there's no way this would work right? You spent too much time building a thick wall around yourself. Plus, you wouldn't mix work with personal life, Gotham is your priority, completely focus on your job. So is his, but there is something about you he can’t just let go. Getting close to you as Batman wasn’t a possibility, but maybe he could take a chance as Bruce, right?

Words: 2,5k

Masterlist

A/N: fala gente linda! heeey! So it officially starts! I have been kind of busy the last few days (which is ironic cause my vacation just started) but I just wanted to say I’m really happy about the result of the Preview. thank y'all who read it and liked it, it really helped me a lot to keep writing to see that you've been enjoying. I have already wrote some chapters so hopefully i'll be posting in the next days. Anyways, it’s kind a slow start cause I like to build the relationship of the characters from very beginning to make you guys relate and really get into the story easily and that everything makes more sense going forward. So hope you like it.

Gotham City, 2 years ago:

To say you were excited was not enough, you were beyond that. No words can describe how you’re feeling right now. After years working in the GCPD you’re finally a detective and after months asking Gordon to let you work with him and the Batman he has finally let you help.

It’s been 3 years since the bat first showed up. Even though people are getting used to him, it’s still something new and a lot of cops in the station either don't accept his ways or are too corrupt to work up close to him. Then given the nature of the bigger part of Gotham’s policemen, Gordon doesn't trust a lot of them. That leaves him with you. A very excited, a little reckless but extremely truthful young detective to work on cases besides the famous vigilante.

The truth is that you couldn't be more excited. Ever since Batman first showed up you admired him. Yeah maybe his ways were a little rough, but it was working. You could see little differences in your neighborhood. Plus, taking a step forward, risking your own life to make a change in your city it's exactly what you wanted to do when you joined the GCPD, the difference is that he was doing it in his way (and of course wearing a bat costume to do it). So let’s just say that helping Batman in a case was beyond exciting.

“Just warning you” Gordon started talking, breaking the silence in the elevator on your way to the roof, “he is not a friendly guy” he continued and you just nodded. “No, I mean it. He doesn't like new people. He doesn't talk a lot and sometimes he is kind of rude”, you just nodded again and he looked frustrated like he was trying to talk you out of it. It’s funny how you could see right through him.

“I know that Jim. I have watched you work with him for a while, don’t you think I know how he is?” you said following him out of the elevator toward the stairs.

“Y/N! You’re not getting it” he snorted and continued “I’m just saying that you may get disappointed ok? You are this cute little bubble of happiness and sunshine and he is just…” you gave a little laugh while he took a little pause like he was thinking on a right way to say it “a big void of darkness” another pause “there is a possibility that you won't get along so well”

“Maybe I will just infect him with my little bubble” you replied joking with him

“Or he will infect you with his” was all he said before you guys arrived at the roof “Look, I just don’t want you to get disappointed.” he said walking with you and getting closer to the big spotlight with a bat symbol “Just lower your expectations a little, ok?” he finished looking at you

“Don’t worry boss” you said winking at him “we’ve been through this, we’ve had this same conversation like what? about 10 times already.” you started talking a little annoyed, but soon stopped taking a deep breath.

Ever since you met James Gordon he has taken you under his wing. Everybody else in the station thought you were too young or too anxious or too talkative or just too energetic. Some just didn’t like where you came from and some (the bigger part actually) didn't like you because you weren't like them, you wouldn't have a part in their dirty schemes. So while everybody else saw a reckless young detective, Gordon saw potential. Your desire to help, the hope you had to make a difference and change your city for the better. You remind him of himself in the beginning. Not to mention your detective skills and how easily you just read people.

So he helped you. And you guys became close. And even though Jim was just some years older than you, he became like a father to you. Going to the Gordons residence to have dinner together wasn’t uncommon or help to babysit little Barbara or spending holidays. He wasn’t just your boss, but also your best friend so, understandably, he worries about you and your expectations (which you know are usually high and kind of unachievable) He just knows you too well. So you just try to reasonable him calmly.

“I’m ready for this Jim! You know that working with the Bat it’s something I’ve wanted for a while. So yes… I’m excited. But I also know what to expect.” you said calmly getting closer to the signal and it seemed to calm him down a little “And... he can’t be that bad. You’re too dramatic,” you said, rolling your eyes, playing with him one more time before suddenly turning the signal on, blinding you a little and returning to normal as you see a bat sign stamped in the cloudy Gotham sky.

“Now what?” you asked, looking at Jim for an answer.

“Now we wait”

After maybe five minutes, which felt like hours, he showed up. The Batman. Gotham’s knight. Right in front of you. Of course, working with Jim, you have seen him from close before. But this was different, this time you would be working with him.

“What’s going on?” he asked, staying in the shadows with an exaggeratedly thick voice

“It’s some guy who calls himself Riddler.” Jim answered “He took some kids coming back from school hosta-”

Some weird guy wearing a stupid green costume with purple question marks on it, kidnapped an entire school bus full of kids and hid them somewhere. He left the bus empty in the middle of a random street with a small note inside of it. Saying we were going on a “super fun” treasure hunt and got until midnight to find those kids. Or God knows what will happen to them. At the end of the note there was a little puzzle that would take you to a location, arriving there was another puzzle that took us to another location, and so on. But even though we have been able to solve some of them it seems like we have been running in circles for hours, spending too much time moving around from one location to another instead of trying to solve the clues. You were losing too much time and we don’t have that time. You have a team to help you of course but it is nearly enough. In a city like Gotham, the whole police are either not caring or really busy.

Your plan now is to spit up. To keep a small team (yourself included) stationed at the police station. Focused on solving the riddles and looking for another alternative way to find these children and arrest this maniac.

Then have someone else with the knowledge and ability to move around easily around the city to find the clues but is also good enough to help you solve them. You already know the perfect guy for that. So now Jim is doing what you suggested a long time ago: asking the bat to work together.

“I know, I’m already working on it” the bat interrupted Jim the turned his head in your direction “Why is this girl here?”

“ooh yeah, this is detective Y/L/N-” Jim started but once again was interrupted this time by you

“I’m detective Y/L/N!” you said taking a step forward and offering your hand for him to shake, only to realize how stupid that was because you’re pretty sure by his posture that he is not going to shake it. So you slowly put your hand on your side again.

Of course Bruce knows who you are. He checked the files of a lot of people who worked at the station. Yours included. Since you’re close to Gordon and seem pretty good at your job. You have an impressive resume, a very energetic personality, and always seem to be around in some of the cases he and Gordon work together. So yeah. He doesn’t want to know your name. He already knows that. He probably knows things about you that not even Gordon knows, things you probably want to keep hidden. He wants to know what the hell an inexperienced detective is doing with him and Gordon on this roof to discuss an important case like this one with so many lives in danger.

“I’m the detective responsible for the case” you continued introducing yourself, starting calmly but soon you started to babble as usual “cause well… I’m the best at it, NOT that I’m bragging or something is just… I’m really good at puzzles… like I did a lot when I was a kid, it was actually fun, I’m NOT sayin this is fun cause you know there are kids in dangerous, and ……. I think I’m gonna spot talking right now” you were talking fast but by the end of your monologue you realized the Batman was annoyed about all your talking, then you just said the last part lower and slower. JUST SHUT UP Y/N.

“Why don’t go back to your table now?” he spoke quickly to you, before turning his attention completely to Jim “Gordon, just give the clues you’ve solved so far” and they started discussing something like you weren’t there, but you weren’t listening already full of anger.

You couldn’t believe what was happening. How could he just dismiss you like that, like he has your superior or something? Then ask for all the work you have been doing all day to not even you. That’s ridiculous. Who does he think he is? Just because he goes around wearing a stupid costume beating up bad guys, he thinks he can boss you around? Jim was right, I should’ve lowered my expectations. Never meet your heroes, that’s how they say right?

“Excuse me?” you said taking some steps forwards towards the vigilante. Jim was looking at you (knowing you he already knows what is about to come) and the bat just looked annoyed that you didn’t leave as he told you yet. None of them said anything so you took it as a clue to continue. “You can’t tell me to go back to my table, I don’t even have just a table, I have a whole office, okay?” you said speaking a little louder the last part and took one more step forward “I didn’t spend the whole day, solving those stupid puzzles, going around the entire city searching for this clues, just for you dismiss me like that.” you said really angry, speaking higher than necessary.

But not even seconds later you remembered what was at risk here, and your pride was the least of your concern “Why don’t you just hear me out so we can work together and end it the quickest possible way?” you finished not angry anymore but looking forward to some help, to find those kids, to arrest that freak. You don’t even realize how close to the batman.

Bruce is surprised, to say at least. Not even 5 minutes ago you were a babbling mess in front of him and now you’re practically doing a staring contest with batman (if it wasn’t for his mask). You might even have a point, this was your case, your work, you are probably really capable and working together may solve this faster. But the thing is… Bruce doesn’t know you. You’re not Gordon. He doesn’t trust you. And given the other things that he saw on your file, he has reasons not to. So even though he thinks it’s really brave of you to stand against him, he isn’t going to give you the satisfaction.

“Because I don’t trust you” he spoke with that thick voice and an emotionless face “you didn’t give any reason to” he continued “There’s nothing I’ll do with your help that I can’t do by myself, and you would probably just slow me down. This is not one of your childhood puzzles to leave an inexperienced person responsible for it. There are lives in danger, detective.”

Jim was watching the interaction without knowing what to do, you were kind and sweet most of the time but when you got angry it wasn’t a nice view, and the bat… well the bat seems to be always angry and now wasn’t different.

You hated that he brought that stupid thing you said in your babbling to this. About childhood puzzles. Sounded like you weren’t taking this seriously or something. Sounded like you weren’t able or responsible enough to solve this case and save those kids.

“And you think I don’t know that?” you said taking a step down this time “Would I be asking your help if I wanted to do this alone? I don’t care if you don’t trust me or something, but there are 24 kids out there probably really scared, crying for their parents and every second we spend here with this petty argument is one more second they spend in that traumatizing situation” you said angry, trying to make him see your point. He was quiet for a few seconds like he was thinking about all you just said.

“Han… Batman… Detective Y/L/N is one of our best. She solved some pretty tough cases and I put her in charge of this one because I know what she is capable of. I trust her. And if you trust me then trust my judgment too.” Jim said, surprising you since in the heat of the moment you even forgot he was there. But… Thank God for James Gordon the guy always knows what to say, cause a few seconds later the vigilante spoke.

Bruce was thinking really hard. Being Batman for only 3 years he never trusted any other policeman than Gordon. The cops didn’t like him. If they had a chance they would arrest him in two seconds. And here you were asking for his help to save those children. He saw your file, he knew you could do it alone. He could do it alone too. But how long would it take?

You’re right! The longer you wait, the longer those children suffer. So for the kids. Just this once he could trust someone else.

“Alright!” He said in a lower tone than usual “We do this together this time.” He said looking at you and it was visible how you were trying to hold back a smile, you looked at Gordon and gave you a discreet thumbs-up.

Batmas was searching for something in his belt then he handed you a small communication device you saw Gordon use once.

“Just this time and that’s it, you got it?” he asked very firmly like he wasn’t asking just for you but for himself too. You just nodded your head still containing the grin and then answered it.

“Yeah I got it! Just this time it is” you said examining the device he just gave you.

“So what is your plan, detective?”

Chapter 1

Hope you guys like it! Let me know what you think (and also let me know if I made any mistakes in English)

[mikauzoran]

Marichat and Adrienette: Floral (One-Shot)

Summary: In which Chat Noir stealing Marinette’s hoodie leads to her making him his own hoodie…which leads to an identity reveal.

Read it on AO3: Marichat and Adrienette: Floral

“I’m making you your own hoodie so you’ll stop stealing mine,” Marinette announced without looking up from her sketchpad.

Chat Noir gave a start from where he was curled up reading on her chaise longue, her too-small-for-him-to-wear hoodie draped over his shoulders like a cape.

“You don’t have to do that, Marinette,” he protested.

In truth, he wouldn’t mind having a hoodie made especially for him by the girl he had a sizable and ever-growing crush on. The problem was that her making him his own hoodie would not solve the issue.

The reason why he always stole her hoodie to snuggle up with was because it smelled like her. While the hoodie she made him might pick up some of her scents just from being in her room, it would never quite match the unique Marinette smell of her own clothing.

Not that he could say any of that out loud for fear of sounding like a creep and ruining their friendship.

He didn’t think he could do justice with words the warm, safe sensation he felt when surrounded by her scent, and he’d probably come out sounding stalkerish.

“Here.” As much as it pained him, he removed the hoodie from around his shoulders and brought it over to her, holding it out like a peace offering. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know it bothered you when I borrowed it.”

She blinked up at him in surprise, but then a warm smile spread across her lips, and she pushed the hoodie back towards him. “I’m sorry, Chaton. I was just teasing. I don’t mind at all.”

His head tipped slightly to the side. “You don’t? You’re sure?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Absolutely. Go ahead and use the hoodie whenever you’re here. It’s totally fine, Chat Noir. I was just thinking that maybe you’d like to have your own, since you seem to like mine so much.”

He opened and closed his mouth several times as he tried to piece together an answer.

Of course he wanted a hoodie, but…

“I wouldn’t want to bother you,” he finally responded. “I know how much time it takes to design and make clothes, and I know how busy you are.”

She waved her hand and went back to sketching. “It’s no bother, and you’d be surprised at how fast I can whip things out.”

“But—”

“—So, it’s settled,” she decreed. “What colour would you like?”

He pursed his lips.

She glanced up at him, gaze expectant.

“…Grey?”

She nodded and started on the outline of the hoodie in her sketchbook. “Any particular design or lettering you want me to do?”

He gulped. “…Could I…? Would you do…?”

She looked back up at him, but this time her expression was kind and patient. “I can do whatever you like, Chat Noir. Why? You want me to do something from an anime or video game or something?”

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “…Could you do that floral design?”

Her brow creased. “Floral design?”

“The one on your favourite shirt and your purse and backpack,” he clarified, toing nervously at the floorboards. “Your floral design.”

She paused for a moment and then asked, “…Why that? Just out of curiosity.”

“Well…”

How to tell her he wanted to wear her mark in a non-creepy way?

“…Most knights carry a token of their lady’s favor with them into battle. I’d be honored to wear your symbol,” he extemporized, summoning up all of his gallantry as he swept into a deep bow and kissed her hand.

Marinette chuckled fondly as she grinned. “Oh? Am I your lady now? I thought I was your princess.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but just then he looked up at her and froze as he suddenly saw Ladybug’s sassy, teasing expression on Marinette’s face.

Slowly, he straightened up and dropped her hand, staring at her in awe.

“Chat Noir?” she called uncertainly. “What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “…You’re…both.”

Marinette frowned. “I’m both? Both what?”

An adoring smile quickly spread from one corner of his lips to the other. “My princess and my Lady, Buguinette.”

Marinette stiffened in alarm, her jaw slackening and her eyes going wide. “I…No. I’m-I’m not. You’re wrong.”

He blinked in confusion, but then, after a second his smile returned. He scooped up her hand, giving it a kiss on the knuckles. “Sorry. My mistake. I guess it’s just wishful thinking. It would be a lot simpler if the two girls I love were the same person.”

Marinette nearly fell off her chair at this second shock. “You…love…?”

He bent over to place a quick kiss to her cheek and had to suppress a victory dance as a cherry blossom blush swirled across her face.

“Mmhm,” he affirmed. “I’ve loved you for a while, Marinette, but I understand if you just want to stay friends. Your friendship is enough.”

It was easier to say now that he knew who she was, that he’d confessed to her dozens of times and never lost her friendship.

“I…” She floundered for words.

“You don’t have to say anything,” he assured, gradually backing away and retreating to the chaise longue where he retrieved his book and wrapped her hoodie back around his shoulders.

Marinette pressed her lips together in a thin line as she stared a hole through her sketchpad. “It’s complicated.”

He arched an eyebrow. He hadn’t been expecting a response.

She shook her head as if to clear it like an etch-a-sketch. “It’s not that I don’t have feelings for you. I just…”

She looked away, muttering, “And there’s my crush on Adrien.”

He was fairly certain he hadn’t been meant to hear that part, so he carefully schooled his expression into a neutral one even as he internally jumped for joy.

She blew out a sigh. “I’m sorry. Things are just too complicated right now. Could we…” Tentatively, she looked up at him. “…just stay friends for now?”

He nodded, making sure his smile was reassuring. “Absolutely, Princess. Nothing has to change.”

It was a lie, and he knew it. Everything already had changed now that he knew it was her and that he had a chance on both sides of the mask.

 Two weeks later, Marinette was in the middle of sewing little accessories for the kwamis when her mother called up to her.

“Marinette? Your friend is here to see you.”

“Be right down!” she shouted in response before Sabine could come upstairs and spot the kwamis.

When Marinette descended from the attic into the flat, she was taken aback to find Adrien standing in the kitchen, wearing the hoodie Marinette had made for Chat Noir.

Her mouth dropped open.

Adrien smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, Princess. I couldn’t wait any longer. I hope you’re not too mad at me.”

Her mouth flapped like a carp’s.

She almost had a response threaded together, but then he crossed the room and produced a red rose with the flick of his wrist.

His grin turned nervous as he held it out to her. “Here. It goes with your suit.”

Marinette’s jaw hit the floor this time at the revelation that he hadn’t bought her excuses about not being Ladybug that night two weeks prior.

She took the rose and blinked at it.

Adrien started to squirm as his anxiety mounted.

He knew it was a risk coming there and revealing himself like that, but he hadn’t expected her to be shocked speechless, and he didn’t think it would last for long.

Internally, he braced himself to be shouted at and flung over her shoulder and through a window for his idiocy.

“…My Lady? Say something. Please,” he begged when the tension got to be too much.

In lieu of words, she responded with action.

Adrien had come up with so many different scenarios when he’d mentally rehearsed his identity reveal, but he hadn’t anticipated one where she threw herself at him, claiming his lips with her own.

Adrien eagerly met her kiss for kiss until they both pulled back, grinning at each other like idiots.

“Wanna go to the movies?” she got out in a rush.

His smile, already impossibly wide, grew even larger. “Can I take you out to dinner afterwards?”

“Only if you don’t make fun of me for picking the carrots out of my salad,” she bargained, having to remind herself that this was her stupid catboy.

His grin shifted into a smirk. “I don’t know. That’s a pretty big ask, Buguinette.”

She smacked him on the arm. “Just for that, you owe me a milkshake.”

“Oh, I will buy you all of the milkshakes,” he swore, wearing the most serious expression.

“Good,” she huffed…and then leaned in for another kiss.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML Fic: Soulmate Survey Part 35

(Master post)

(Insert excuse on why it took so long) (Insert comedic joke on why I didn't update sooner) (plea of trying better) (Heartfelt compliment on why all of you are awesome and patient)

Okay so now that we got that out of the way. But in all seriousness. Thanks for your patience and I hope you enjoy.

If you do enjoy the fic, please Comment and reblog. Reblogs are like Gold on Tumblr and being a writer and posting to Tumblr is difficult. So every little bit helps.

Alright so now lets get to it.

_____________________________________________________________

The nurse heard the commotion going on in the halls. She knew that shortly after Chloé left, things outside the office became… restless. She turned off all the lights and locked the door to the nurse’s office. She did her best to stay quiet and not draw attention to the room. She knew those akuma were out there and she needed to focus on stabilizing her patient.

“I hope that Chloé managed to get that message out.” The nurse whispered to herself.

The woman felt weird pinning her hopes of escaping this place on a spoiled teenager, but at this point, beggars can’t be choosers.

She heard someone approach the door. The nurse felt her blood turn to ice. She refused to move a single inch. She hoped and prayed that the person would go away. She could hear the screams of students outside. She knew the akuma, whoever they were, were out there, and they were taking anyone they could find. Right now, all she could do was pray they don’t check.

“Please… for all that is good… let them leave.” She prayed under her breath.

After what felt like an eternity, she heard the sound of footsteps away from the door and everything returned to eerie silence.

She felt her essence sigh in relief.

She got up from the ground and went to go attend to the unconscious woman in the cot.

“Its strange for someone so young to be so exhausted… but then again, when I get into the line of work I am hoping for, it is likely I will be seeing a lot of cases like this.” Angela joked, trying to keep herself in good spirits. “Society is such a mess.”

Angela checked Nathalie’s pulse. It was present, but it felt off. It was weaker than she was expecting from someone of her age. Perhaps she has a much more serious medical condition. Angela would probably recommend that this woman see a professional when this is all said and done. Though for now, she was stable and calm, which was a very good sign.

The nurse considered that maybe she wasn’t getting an accurate reading, was something off with the assistant’s breathing? She would need to check. The nurse grabbed a stethoscope and moved closer, getting ready to check again.

“Ow!” She yelped as she felt something grab her arm. Nathalie had awaken and she had a firm grip on the woman's wrist.

“What are you doing!?” The surprised assistant exclaimed

“You're awake!? Oh, thank goodness.”

“Awake?”

“Yes, you passed out at a most stressful time. Right now, I recommend we keep our voices down.” The nurse hushed.

‘S***’

Nathalie mentally cursed to herself. She knew it had to be Masquerade. Her little episode resulted in her being far too late to get in and out without issue. She was planning on getting Adrien out of here before things went south.

She got up from the cot she had been laying in.

“Hold on a second.” Angela called out. “You need to stay and rest. I am glad you are conscious. But that sudden fainting spell could be indicative of…”

Nathalie did not have time for this. She gave an ice-cold glare at the nurse.

“If you intend on making me stay here, you will need to do so by force!”

The nurse felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. This woman’s eyes clearly showed intent on fighting. Angela was not a fighter, she helped people, not hurt them.

“You are my patient, and there is a lot of danger outside. You are in no condition to go out there.”

Nathalie had to respect the woman’s guts for standing up to her, despite the nurse’s knees shaking as she maintained eye contact.

“Okay, so how will we deal with the akuma breaking in then.”

“What!”

Angela turned her back to Nathalie, who took full advantage, giving the school nurse a fierce chop to the neck. Causing the nurse to drop like a sack of potatoes.

“Rest up.”

Nathalie put the nurse in the cot that she had previously been resting in.

“Seems I don’t have time to be subtle. Duusu.”

The blue Kwami popped out.

“Nathalie! Do you want to play?”

“Yes Duusu, the game is find Adrien and get out of here.”

“Horray!”

“Duusu! Spread my feathers!”

_____________________________________________________________

“Get down!” Ladybug dived into Chat noir, helping them both avoid the pause symbols and deadly bubbles headed their way. The akuma on both sides of them managed to avoid the incoming attacks they had sent towards the heroes.

“Thanks LB.” Chat noir thanked. “While you are the second person I want to be dancing with. We can't keep dodging forever. Even if their moves are predictable. Maybe those masks are the key to stopping them."

“Hardly a dance, its ettiquette for the boy to lead if it is. And I don't think so. Those masks appear to be unbreakable and impossible to remove” Ladybug said as she pulled her partner quickly back up, both noticing the akuma were ready for more.

“We still haven’t tried cataclysm.” Chat noir comments as he runs and jumps over a trashcan to avoid getting nailed by Bubbler’s attack bubbles.

“Right, but that would leave you exposed. Call it a hunch, but we will need to save it for later.” Ladybug responds as she jumps away and opens a door to block several pause symbols. "Besides, do you want to be mask-less at this Akuma calamity?"

“I was going to say it was more like a Masquerade ball. And no I would not."

Ladybug rolled her eyes at the lame joke, but still had a bit of a smile. Lightening the mood.

"Silly kitty"

"But seriously, we need a plan. If we can’t free them, what can we do?”

Ladybug focused for a moment. She noticed the way they were attacking, it was predictable and slow. Normally the akuma change up their attacks, or at least seem more aware of what the heroes are doing. The akuma were acting a lot more like controlled puppets. Much like when she had to deal with Puppeteer. Seems this akuma had some drawbacks that could be exploited. This was where Ladybug realized there was a way to deal with them.

“We disarm them. Break Bubbler’s wand and I will terminate Lady Wifi’s phone plan. Their reflexes are way more sluggish than usual. My bet is that having so many servants is starting to have a drain on the effectiveness of her forces. We just need to act quick.”

“Alright, sounds good to me.”

“On my mark we charge.”

Ladybug kept an eye on both akuma, after they sent a flurry of attack, they would usually have to take a moment to recharge. Bubbler would need to dip his wand back into his bubble pack and Lady wifi would have her hand cramp after sending 10 swipe symbols and would need to pull her hand back.

“Now!”

Chat noir and Ladybug both pounced at the two akuma, moving fast enough that their foes couldn’t retaliate as the heroes swiped the weapons from their respective wielders.

“Sorry to burst your bubble.” Chat noir joked as he snapped the bubble wand.

“And you’ve reached your data limit for the month.” Ladybug chimed in as she crushed Lady Wifi’s phone.

Both akuma began swinging their fists at the heroes, trying to turn the fight into a bare-knuckle brawl. But Ladybug’s assessment was correct, their attacks were too predictable. Ladybug caught Lady Wifi’s fist and flipped her over her shoulder to the ground.

Chat noir ducked under bubbler’s punch and slipped behind him. The cat used his staff to swipe at the feet of the forward moving akuma and knocked him mask first onto the floor.

“Alright, their disarmed. Now what?”

“Move him over here.”

Chat noir picks up the akuma by his bubble pack and throws him over to ladybug like a curling stone.Ladybug uses her yo-yo to tie the two dazed akuma back to back.

“Let’s put them somewhere where they won’t cause any trouble.”

_____________________________________________________________

“Next!” Masquerade called out in annoyance.

She had gotten her akuma servants to capture as many teachers and students as possible. She had the element of surprise and with the amount of akuma she had at her disposal, it was easy to capture several. Though she figured none would escape and cause panic, Timebreaker was guarding the parameter and kept her informed of any people she ‘Tagged’. Horrificator finished sealing all of the exits so no one would be able to come in or out.

She figured there was a good chance for adding more akuma to her rank. The problem was, most of the akuma sucked. She ended up developing a system for them. If they turned out to have no useful ability, she would humiliate them, have reflekta turn her into replicas of herself and then have Princess Frangrance spray the rejects to turn into obedient servants, this way she had something useful out of them. Make them get snacks or whatever. There were multiple uses for mind-controlled students and teachers. So far, she didn’t find a single one worthy of her time.

“I SAID NEXT!” Masquerade shouted louder.

Masquerade sized up the black-haired girl that one of the Reflekta duplicates had pushed forward. She recognized the shy smile from television. She was one of the weather girls on the KIDZ+ network. That was a contest Lila would have KILLED to have been a part of. She mentally told herself she would have won if she had entered.

“Your Mirelle aren’t you?”

“Y-Yes, please don’t hurt me.” She pleaded.

Masquerade rolled her eyes.

“Let’s, see what the deepest parts of your mind hold.”

“Stop!’

Masquerade stopped to turn to the person that shouted.

“Well, well, well, seems we have both weather girls that go to this school.” Masquerade commented. “What a coincidence.”

Masquerade’s eyes went to the honey blonde weather girl. The akuma had to respect the fierce glare the girl was giving her.

“Aurore don’t.” Mirelle tried to plea.

“Fragrance, shut her up.”

The perfume akuma moved from the wall and sprayed the shy weather girl.”

“No!”

Masquerade felt her bracelet glow, indicating that there was an akuma victim present.”

“So, stormy weather, does this rain on your parade?”

“Don’t call me that!” Aurore spat with disgust.

“That loss still bothers you. How the city voted and you were blown out of the water.”

“I know your trying to get under my skin, it won’t work.” Aurore said. “I’ve dealt with Chloé, and she is way meaner.”

Masquerade kept her smile.

“You’re right, that wouldn’t bother me. The comments by everyone else questioning why you are there would. All of those people wondering what the point of that vote was. So now you have to constantly push harder and harder to prove you deserve to be there with Mirelle. It has become your obsession; the way people perceive you. You need to be the perfect weather girl, with the good looks and the good grades. You can’t let anyone begin to doubt your ability.”

Aurore felt her heart shatter at the comment. It was like this akuma had reached into her chest and pulled her heart out. She could see her biggest fear.

“Shut up! I am good enough! You can’t tell me otherwise.”

Masquerade felt a twinge of annoyance, but a sinister idea came into her head. She touched the perfume bottle charm, her colors shifted to match the color scheme of the Perfume akuma.

“Mirelle, tell her what she needs to here.”

The controlled weather girl felt something intrude in her mind, for a brief second, she winced, before turning into a creepy smile.

“Mirelle?”

Aurore felt her skin crawl as she turned to see her coworker and friend staring at her, a creepy smile on her face.

“You aren’t good enough. You were never good enough. You tried so hard to be charming and cute, but the network thinks your redundant. They were going to get rid of you as soon as they could. I hear they are aiming for the end of the month.” She sing-songed.

Aurore dropped to her knees. Her confidence shattered. She broke down, tears streamed down her face. She covered her hands to cry. To hear her say those awful things, was it true? Was she gone? Was all her work for nothing?

Mirelle’s creepy forced smile stayed, but from the corner of her eye, a single tear began streaming down her cheek. Unbeknown to Aurore, Masquerade was using the controlled teen like a ventriloquist dummy.

“Excellent work.”

Masquerade shifted back to her original colors and grabbed a mask from her dress before she flung it right at the depressed weather girl. She took joy in watching it clamp onto her face like an alien face-hugger. There was a brief moment of struggle, but Aurore was no more. Stormy weather had taken her place. Masquerade laughed as a new charm appeared on her bracelet.

“Finally, some better servants. And these powers are no joke.”

Stormy weather raised her umbrella at Masquerade.

“Oh? Are you trying to resist?”

The akuma’s arm was shaking, but then dropped. Her body becoming inactive, like a toy robot with its batteries removed.

“And there goes the last of your resistance. Now go out and find Ladybug and Chat noir. Lady Wifi and Bubbler haven’t returned.”

Stormy weather nodded and headed out of the classroom.

Masquerade noticed the cowering captured students and took a moment to appreciate the power she wielded. Sure, she would have preferred to have been loved by the school, but being feared is a close second.

Her joy was cut short when something pinged into her mind.

Requirements met for new akuma. Confirm merge?

‘Merge?’

Masquerade tried to figure out what that meant. What was merging.

‘The components for the akuma Oblivio are now available, would you like to merge the two akuma to make new akuma?’

“Oblivio? I don’t remember an akuma by that name?” Masquerade said to herself. “Well, if two people are needed to make it and it is making something new, it must be good. Confirm!”

A new charm appears on her bracelet, one in the shape of a question mark.

"Creating Lady Wifi, Bubbler, Oblivio fusion.'

“I wonder what this will bring.”

_____________________________________________________________

Hawkmoth got felt a sudden shift in the mood of his akuma.

"So Lila found a way to merge akuma with multiple different forms into one. And now she is able to create a completely new akuma. Perhaps Ladybug and Chat noir have finally met there match."

The butterfly villain rubbed his hands smugly as he continued observing. Though part of him wondered if Nathalie was able to secure Adrien safely.

_____________________________________________________________

“Okay, these should work.” Chat noir exclaimed as he opened two empty lockers.

Ladybug removed her yo-yo that had tied the two akuma together and shoved the two of them inside each locker before slamming it shut.

“We need something to lock them in for a while.” Ladybug exclaimed as she held the doors closed. The akuma started trying to break free. Moving in any way they could to bust out.

Chat noir looked around, looking for something to shove in front of the lockers.

“Ugh, there is nothing to barricade them with!” Chat noir exclaims.

“Just seal the doors.”

“Right!”

Chat noir put his hand on the lockers where the doors would open, he focused all his strength into his hands and crunched doors by the lock, making it impossible to open in the conventional way.

“That should hold it.” Chat noir exclaimed with relief.

Ladybug slid down the door as resistance finally ceased.

“I think they realized they can’t escape.” Chat noir eased.

Ladybug got up from the floor. They give each other a fist bump on their success.

“Well thankfully that deals with two troublesome akuma. Now we need to get to Lila before we get overrun with them.”

The two heroes quickly leave the locker room.

"By the way, you mentioned earlier I was the second person you wanted to be dancing with. Who is the first?"

Chat noir felt a faint blush on his cheeks.

"How about we talk dances later." Chat noir dodged the question.

Both heroes hurrying down the hall to try and get to Masquerade.

But after they left, the lockers they had left the akumas in started to shake wildly…

_____________________________________________________________

“Heads up!” Viperion exclaimed as he pulled Ryuuko out of the Akuma’s range. The vanishing miracular was a far more difficult opponent then both reptilian heroes were expecting. The akuma vanishes just before Ryuuko could retaliate.

“Every time we lose sight of her, she vanishes and I can’t get a clean hit!” Ryuuko grumbles.

Viperion looks around frantically.

“Yes, but I do believe we have some interesting intel. The akuma seems unable to use both her powers at the same time. She needs to turn visible in order to try and attack us with those Tonfa of hers” The snake hero explains

Ryuuko backs up, looking around to see if she can notice anything that could help her locate the sneaky servant.

“And whatever its other power is seems to involve using those Tonfa. Call it a hunch but we can’t let her use it on us.” Ryuuko discussed her instinctual feeling.

“Guard my back, she can’t sneak up on us if our backs are covered.” Viperion instructs. “Her strategy is very straight forward. We just need to wait for an opening”

“Got it.” Ryuuko says just as she notices something from the corner of her eye. “There you are.”

Ryuuko makes a charge at what appeared to be a wall, but her sword contacted Miracular’s tonfa. Forcing her visible again.

Viperion took noticed of the poor stance that Miracular had while blocking Ryuuko. He wasn’t an expert but even he could see that an unexpected hit would knock her off her feet.

He threw his lyre right at the akuma’s knees and made contact, the force causing her to buckle and Ryuuko disarmed the akuma by parrying her tonfa.

Viperion caught the weapons and broke them over his knee.

“Well that takes care of her weapons.”

Ryuuko noticed the akuma tried to get away but she dove tackled her before she could turn visable.

“Nice work. But what are we going to do to stop her from getting in the way?” Viperion inquired.

Ryuuko band the akuma's face repeatedly against the floor in order to break the mask. Sadly there was not even a scratch on it.

"Well this mask is durable. Might need to lock her somewhere."

The snake hero thought for a moment. he remembered back to a previous akuma attack. Chat noir had put him in a locker to be safe. He still remembered the playful wink the cat gave.

"Any ideas Viper piper?" Ryuuko inquired as she maintained her hold on the akuma.

"Huh? Oh right. Why not take to the locker room and throw her into a locker. She isn't super strong so we could easily just toss her in and lock it. Also, what is with the nickname?"

"I heard that giving people nicknames helps endear people to you."

"Okay, well you can keep trying, but I don't play pipes. What other ones do you have."

"... That was the only one I had... Ill try and come up with more as we go."

"Looking forward to it ... Dra-girl"

Ryuuko paused to look at him as she stood up with the akuma.

"Yea... It felt wrong as soon as I said it. Lets just go."

_____________________________________________________________

Chloé had given most of the akuma she encountered the slip. Not from expert hiding of fighting skill, she simply walked passed them. A normal individual would realize how amazing it was that as long as you don’t freak out, the akuma basically don’t notice. But to Chloé, it felt insulting. Did the akuma seriously believe she was not worth chasing?

“Un-be-lievable.” Chloé huffed. “Most of these akuma would have been chasing me like crazy by now.”

She grumbled to herself as she made it to the front entrance, which she realized had been slimed on.

“EWW, they got that nasty slime monster on their side.”

The mayor’s daughter felt a mix of disgust and annoyance. With this door sealed, she would need to get to one of the other exits, on the other side of the school.

“This would be a really good time for Ladybug to show up and let me be Queen bee.” Chloé stated aloud.

But the area she was in was practically empty.

“Figures.” Chloé sighed. “Why do these gross rejects always have to make things so annoying!”

Unfortunately for her, her complaints did attract some attention from a group of Reflekta copies roaming the halls.

“We order you to come with us!” The three reflektas sang in unison. Chloé didn’t know or care if the original was among them.

“How about no.” Chloé scoffed. She pushed one of them down and walked past them. The other two rushed to her to capture her. But Chloé easily knocked both of the reflektas down easy. The servants were not use to walking in heels. They may be controlled, but Chloé can tell when an amateur walking in gaudy heels from a mile away.

“You 3 need to learn how to walk and a lesson on fashion before you can even THINK of taking me hostage.” Chloé flipped her hair and smugly continued walking, as the three reflektas tried to get up.

Hidden from view, hiding in what appeared to be an abandoned janitor’s cleaning cart, an old man popped his head out slightly.

“Ladybug does need all the help she could get right now…But would she be the right choice?”

_____________________________________________________________ (End of Part 36.)

What other akuma will be joining Masquerade's ranks?

Will Ladybug and Chat noir be able to face the old and new threats?

Will Mayura cause more problems or solve em?

Also, what do you think this new akuma fusion will look like?

I would love to see your takes.

[shivada-jade]

reply back

modern!au/idol!au

characters: aether, lumine mentions: venti, xiao, kazuha, barbara, azhdaha warning(s): swearing because lumine and aether are siblings

notes: i've been lACKING these idol au's so im gonna write more idol au's because i nEEED it

You were seven when you were introduced to the twins. Coming from a foreign land, you struggled with the language they spoke in, but they were patient with you and taught you their language and much more. The twins were multilingual and explained it was from their frequent traveling and relatives from different places.

You and the twins were close, but Lumine spent more time with you, making Aether whine a lot. He would always poke sticks at you and hide your legendary, full art Pokemon cards to catch both Lumine's and your attention. It does work, but Lumine's mad.

"Aether!" She'd scream with a lisp because of a missing tooth. "Stop doing that!"

Oh, but Aether is a sibling, meaning he'd play the 'innocent' card. "Stop doing what? What am I doing?"

In the end, you'd always have to call their parents when they fist fight at the sand pit. "Aether and Lumine's mom! They're fighting again!"

"Again?" The tall blonde sighed. "Thanks for telling me, hon."

After a good scolding, Aether and Lumine would be totally okay the next minute like nothing happened. You were used to their banter and rightfully took your Pokemon cards back. Lumine stuck a tongue out, blowing a raspberry at Aether when he turned his back, grabbing three large sticks.

"Fight me!" He cried with glee, giving one stick to his sister and one to you. "I will be the grand king of the sand pit!"

You vaguely remember the rest. Maybe you lost the 'sword duel,' or maybe you didn't, but what you did remember was this tall kid playing with his cat and eating the sand. Forget the kid, the only thing you remember is his cat's name called Azhdaha.

Your hands close your story book. You would never admit to your friends, but Lumine and Aether that you still read fantasy. The other kids in the neighbourhood would laugh saying what you were reading is a kid's story.

"So what if it's a kid's story? If you like it, read it," Lumine says aggressively while Aether opens the door for both of you.

"Lumi's right. They think they're all grown up, but they're kids too," he closes the door behind him, waving goodbye to your grandma rocking on the porch. "What's the story about anyway?"

You walk ahead, leading the two to a local mall. Every week, Aether, Lumine and yourself would spend Fridays and Saturdays together.

You and Lumine often joke how Aether doesn't do 'Saturdays are for the boys.' To which, Aether would scoff and reply with, "Boys who say that are stupid, not all but most. Saturdays are for spending time with people you care about. I don't care if they think I'm weak."

You step foot in the bus, tapping the card to pay for your admission. The twins, walk behind, doing the same and sitting next to you on the bus.

"It's called 'Songs of a Siren.' It's cool, you should check it out." You say, scooting a bit closer to the side so Lumine could have more pace to sit. The bus is packed. Teenagers littered inside, only a few adults were there including the bus driver. "Let's leave. Teenagers stink."

"...But you are one."

"Well-"

After the next stop, you push yourself through the crowd, trying to exit. Lumine pushes people, muttering a few 'excuse us' while dragging her brother. Your feet land on the concrete sidewalk and you finally breathe freely.

You see the twins finally get off the bus and tilt your head, "Let's go, the mall isn't gonna wait for us."

Entering the mall, the first thing you pass by is a clothes shop. You and Aether share a look, quietly doing rock-paper-scissors behind Lumine who's beaming to go inside.

Rock.

Aether chooses paper.

You droop to the floor because you're dramatic, knowing that once you go in the shop, you'll be the one carrying Lumine's purchases.

"Alright, Lumine," you say sighing. "Let's go shop."

You see Aether in your peripheral vision, pumping his fist laughing a quiet, "Yes!" when Lumine takes out her wallet.

"I know you did rock-paper-scissors." She counts the bills from her wallet, "But I'm buying for Aether which means even if you carry the things I buy, Aether's gonna have it much worse because he will be trying on everything I tell him to wear." She grins, settling with a black debit card.

After hearing this, Aether tries to walk in another shop to avoid dressing up for Lumine, but his sister quickly catches on and pulls him by the ear and walks in the clothes shop.

"Let's go!" She says to you, "These clothes won't shop themselves!"

...

"This one?"

"No, you look like grandpa in that outfit."

"Well what if I like looking like grandpa, huh? What are you gonna do about it?"

"Some people can pull off the sexy grandpa look. You're not 'some people.'" Lumine pulls out another outfit from the rack. "Try this one," she laughs, seeing Aether's horrified face and pushes him in the dressing area.

This is the ninth clothes shop you three go to, and you were starting to feel bad for Aether who had to wear every outfit Lumine wanted him to wear.

"Lumi," you say calmly, having trouble holding five shopping bags on each arm. She's on a shopping spree and you wonder how she gets all the money to buy these things. "That should be enough shopping for the day. I'm hungry."

The blonde lifts a hand. "Hold on a second," she smiles before banging on the changeroom door, "AETHER LET ME SEE THE FIT."

You can hear the loud sigh from the other side of the door as it slowly opens. He only peeks his head out, shyly mumbling, "This is embarrassing. I don't want to walk out like this."

Lumine rolls her eyes and pulls the door open, revealing Aether in a white dress shirt and dark pants.

Aether lifts an arm, inspecting the design. "It's a bit..." he pauses, thinking of a way to not offend his sister. "It's not my style." His eyes seek for your help to back him up, but you couldn't. The style on him looks so ethereal to him, and Lumine has the same idea.

His twin ran up to an aisle and picked out two accessories: a silk cloth and a floral pin. Lumine shushes Aether who tried to punch her.

"Shut up Aether, you'll look great." She pins the black rose onto the front of his shirt and ties the silk cloth around his neck. She steps a few steps back, making a rectangle shape to symbolize a picture frame and elbows you lightly. "He looks okay for once."

Okay is underwhelming, but to describe Aether better, he looks celestial. The warm studio lights hug every angle of Aether from head to toe. His golden eyes seem to brighten more and the outfit only accentuates his physical traits more.

From the corner of your eye you spot a tall-ish man who has been wandering past the same aisle but never picking anything up. He wears ordinary clothes- a T-shirt and jeans (rather stylishly), but you know from his incoming aura he's more than just an ordinary person.

You tap Lumine discreetly while still holding onto her shopping bags and tilt your head towards the man.

Aether, who keeps picking on the cloth around his neck goes frigid when the strange man walks up to him.

"Hey kid," he says cooly. He looks Aether up and down, lifting his shades to see clearer, and pulls out a small business card from his pocket. "You look like idol material. Ever thought about being a part of a boyband?"

Out of politeness, Aether takes the card and laughs nervously, "Not really" He looks at Lumine and you for help, but you two pretend to not know him when he turns to you.

The man shoves his hands in his pocket, blowing a bubblegum and popping it. His hair slightly tousles when he turns, waving a hand.

"If you ever do decide if you wanna be an idol, auditions are held next week at 10AM," he saunters off. "If they ask who recruited you, tell them a man by the name of Valentin did."

His lavender irises looks back once more before leaving the store, "The people from Teyvat Entertainment are introduced by my very hands. Don't disappoint me."

The automatic sliding doors open for him and he waves the store greeter a goodbye.

You see Aether's eyes scanning over he card Valentin gave. His lashes flutter quickly, signaling you and Lumine he was either shocked, or confused.

Lumine grabbed the paper, a habit she picked up due to being a twin and having to share everything with Aether who won't share. Her lips part, showing the card to you.

Teyvat Entertainment.

A company who created the world's famous DCKZ and the idol, Barbara. Teyvat Ent. has one of the youngest, top rookies of the year because of a group called TVT Dream. A company with many celebrities' and the business card is legit.

A store worker no older than your age meekly walks up to the three of you and asks, "Hey, uh. Are you ready to purchase your clothes?"

...

Aether shoves Lumine (don't worry she shoves him 10x harder) on the stairs while you watch from a safe distance.

You wave hello to their mom before waltzing into their home like you did many other times. You were their third child in their mom's eyes.

You slam the twins' room open and lay yourself on the bottom bunk of their bunkbed. "So do you wanna check Teyvat Entertainment?"

You fish out your phone from your pocket and hand signal for Aether and Lumine to come close to see. Your phone turns on, showing the lock screen of the twins in their embarrassing toddler moments then unlock it. Quietly laughing at the twins who have their faces beet red from the photograph.

"Why do you have that pic? DELETE IT."

"Did mom give that to you..."

You ignore them, opening up Google and typing in the Teyvat Ent. website and search their contacts. You ask Aether for the business card, comparing the two numbers side by side, and Valentin is indeed one of the scouts for the company.

You shut your phone off, hugging the two siblings together tightly. "Whether Aether decides he wants to be an idol or not, we'll still be the best of friends."

Lumine grins, squishing your cheeks, taking a closer look at you. "Well, duh. Are you scared we'll fall apart? No, if anything you should be scared we're never going to leave you alone even if you're 60 and married."

You pinch her cheeks and start to say something until you hear sniffles and coughing. You turn to Aether who was hiding his tears.

"Shut up, I'm not crying." He harshly wipes away the water falling from his eyes, "When I go famous, I'm going to give you my autograph so you can sell it and eventually get 20 cars and houses."

...

You were a teen when the dark-haired Valentin scouted Aether to be a trainee in Teyvat Ent.

You note that without Aether, their home is extremely quiet. It's odd not seeing Lumine scream at Aether for taking her hair clips. It's odd not seeing Lumine aggressively pull on the colourful flower hairclips on Aether's hair, just to get the clips back. It's so odd not seeing Aether is general.

Lumine scrolls through her phone, looking for furniture to add to her new apartment she shares with you. The only thing in the newly bought apartment is three mattresses, three plates, and three cups, just in case Aether visits. Though, Aether visiting is rare. His visits only happen during December for Christmas, but even then he had not visited. It's been two years since you and Lumine last saw him.

You stare at your last sent messages to the blonde boy.

▶ hEY. (threatening)

YO

▶ take care okay? lumine's worrying all the time for ur health bc she keeps watching yt vids on how idols over-do themselves from training

haha thanks for telling me

are you sure it's not you who's worrying 🧐🤧

the last thing lumi sent to me was "FUCK YOU"

▶ well the last thing you sent to her was "U BUTT"

▶ and she took that seriously

are you siding with her?

▶ yes

oh okay, frick you too seen three months ago

Your feet pad against the wooden tiles, grabbing a glass of water while scrolling through twitter. You lift the glass to your lips and almost choke from the water you drink.

You click the link on the phone with the title "Debuting boy band already claiming the hearts of many! Please welcome 4nemo!" Four boys stand in the picture, one being Aether.

You place your glass to the sink and run to Lumine, sitting next to her and who her your phone. She reads it over and visibly shakes. You swear she was about to cry until she takes the phone from your hand and starts throwing it, "AETHER THAT BITCH. HE DEBUTES AND SAYS NOTHING."

You're mortified and pull your friend away from your phone, "THAT'S A NEW PHONE, STOP." You push her away and run to your device, clicking on the link.

"One, two, three! Hello we are," Aether, the familiar blonde says.

His group members follow after him. "4nemo!" They say in chorus. One by one they start introducing themselves.

"Hi I'm Aether!"

"Kazuha," one says with a raise of a hand.

An energetic member steps up with a grin, "And I'm Barbisabeto!"

"He's Barbatos, forgive him." Teal undertones make it's way to the camera, "Hello, I'm Xiao.

The one with twin braids step up, mischievously grinning. "Please take care of us and support us during our journey through the music industry."

His teal eyes squint behind the camera, whispering to the member behind him. "Psst, Xiao. I can't read I'm blind."

Xiao rolls his eyes and steps up, slightly bowing, "Please support our debuting group, we will see you in our music videos."

But Lumine and you never paid attention to what they were saying. Both of you just started crying insults of endearment to Aether because he looks so... different. His face had mature and he's a real idol now.

Reality sinks in.

Now that Aether had a growing fanbase, it's going to be harder to contact him.

"Lumine, how are we going to talk to him now?"

Lumine ponders a bit, resting her chin on her hand before smirking. "Let's create an Aether hate page."

"Yes, let's do it."

After a quick recording of Lumine and yourself, you posted the video online, and soon enough, it goes viral.

Lumine laughs, replaying the video.

"This one's for the boys with the booming system," You say monotonously in front of the camera like what you said was a speech instead of a song. "Top down, AC with the cooler system."

Lumine comes on screen, flipping her middle finger at the camera. "When he come up in the club, he be blazin' up. This one is actually not for the boys with the booming system. This is for the BITCH, AETHER WITH THE BLONDE BRAID. Look at you with your ugly ass smile," She speaks in one breath and it amazes you. "Make sure you get millions of hits or it's all for nothing. Oh Aether's an ass."

The screen shows your hand scooping the phone up and waving good bye with Lumine still dissing Aether.

You nudge Lumine, showing a comment written at the bottom of the video, covering a laugh.

"who's aether?"

"huh??! aether?"

"lOL Why Does The Person On The Left Look Like Aether?"

"OH 4NEMO DABUTE. SHUTUP YOU ANTI. THEY'RE GORGEOUS. YOU'RE THE ONE UFLY" ➡ "ahisfdh you obvi didnt watch the whole video. she said "make sure get millions of hits"

Lumine grins, commenting at the people calling her ugly and Aether way better looking. "Lol, IKR. the one on the left is trying too hard to look like Aether. it's like shes tryna be a twin or smthn"

Though, because of your viral "hate" video, 4nemo's popularity sky rockets because of the unknown 'Aether' of the group.

...

Aether watches the video on the news channel, because that's how popular the video got. He looks at his manager, "Can I send a hate video back?"

"Aether, no."

But the winds are troublesome as the ocean, because a boy with teal tips on his hair snatched the managers phone, running and giving it to Aether. "AETHER. DO IT RIGHT NOW."

...

It was a shock to you seeing people follow your twitter account.

"LUMI, [NAME], IM SRRY I LOST MY PHONE AND DIDNT WANNA TELL ANY1 OR THEYLL GROUND ME," said the tweet, tagging you in comments.

Lumine doesn't have twitter, so when she looks over your shoulder seeing the tweet with her name on, she grabs the phone and locks herself in the bathroom, "R U FR AETHER?U DIDNT REPLY TO MY HAPPY BDAY. WE SHARE A BDAY DUMBASS"

She calmly unlocks the door, giving your phone back casually while you whine, "Lumine! This is twitter! They're gonna cancel me!"

"I'll cancel them back."

Ding! You receive a post with you name under the comments again.

hello, i have to apologize for our member stealing the manager's phone to tweet that. i swear that kid's the most responsible, but he's been triggered. #kazuha

You quickly type back, under the hashtag 'kazuha.'

"@/4nemo sorry uh thats one of ur members twin & shes mad that aether never gave her a bday present when she gave 1 to him #kazuha"

notes: psst here's where i got aether's outfit inspo when they were outfit changing at the mall

[naturallytom]

Mending a Broken Heart (Tom Holland x reader, alternative part)

a/n: me? writing? unheard of. jk im tryin to get back into the groove!! this is an alternate version to Mending a Broken Heart, so some parts are the same and some I’ve edited or added some things! hope u enjoy!! 

warnings: language, angst, mentions of cheating

please reblog/leave feedback!!

picture not mine!

You had noticed it for months. Tom has been pulling away, spending more time out with the boys than at home with you. His kisses became forced and the words ‘love you’ slowly stopped falling from his lips. 

Most days he would leave for work before you woke up and on the rare occasion you were up when he left, he would mumble a ‘goodbye’ before walking out the door. Sometimes, if you were lucky, he would press a gentle kiss to your forehead. Most times, though, he would just leave. 

You did your best to keep the love alive, you were still madly in love with him. The wedding band that sat tightly on your ring finger mocked you. A symbol of what was love has turned into one sided love. Hell, you weren’t sure if Tom wore his wedding ring anymore. 

A quick glance to his left hand would reveal that he didn’t. 

You spent your nights wondering if it was something you did. Were you too clingy when he left to film? Was he just tired of you after four years of marriage? Did he find someone else?

No. You shook your head to yourself one night as you laid in the bed by yourself, the space usually occupied by Tom cold. If he found someone else and if he cheated, that’s on him. Not on you. 

Still, the thought plagued your mind. Did he meet someone else? Was she prettier than you? Is that where he was when he said he was out with the boys? Was she able to give him something you couldn’t give him?

The door opening and shutting alerted you that Tom was home. You sighed, knowing it’d be another night of sleeping on opposite sides of the bed. 

The door to the bedroom opened and in came Tom, Tessa jumping up to greet him. 

“Hey girl, hey love, how are you, hm?” He whispered, petting Tessa as his eyes flickering over to you, who was visibly awake. “Thought you’d be asleep by now. ‘S late.” 

“Couldn’t sleep.” You replied simply. “Hey so I was thinking, we haven’t had a date night in a while, maybe you wanted to go out to see the Halloween decorations around town and get dinner tomorrow night?” 

“Can’t,” He shook his head as he got ready for bed. “Harrison wants to watch the game. Told him I’d go.” 

“Didn’t you just see Harrison tonight?” 

“Yeah, and?” 

“Nothing.” You sighed, obviously upset. “Nothing, Tom. Goodnight.” 

“Night.” He responded, turning out the light and climbing into bed, falling asleep with his back toward you. 

-

The next day, you were surprised to see Tom already awake and waiting in the kitchen, sipping on a cup of tea when you got downstairs. 

“Good morning.” You smiled softly. 

“We need to talk.” He told you. You felt your heart drop and your palms get sweaty, but you wiped them on your pajama pants in an effort to seem totally calm and not panicked. 

“A-About what?” You asked, your voice coming out shaky. 

“I think,” Tom started. “I think we should get divorced.” 

It was then, at 8:30 am that your world came crashing down. 

“W-What?” You whimpered out, your voice weaker than before. “Why?”

“I’m not happy with you anymore.” He said simply. Your eyes flickered to his left hand, noticing the absence of the golden wedding band, making your heart ache. 

“We can try couples’ therapy. We can go on dates like we used to, Tom, please! We can fight for this, Tom. Fight for us.” You cried, your heart shattering into a million tiny pieces, each one puncturing your lungs as you struggled to keep your breath under control. 

“No,” He shook his head. “My mind is made up. I’m sorry, y/n. Um, I found a lawyer at a firm, they have a lot of other lawyers there you can contact. I’ll just, uh, leave their card here.” 

“So that’s it? Three years of dating and four years of marriage down the drain?” You sobbed, holding your knees to your chest as you sat on the kitchen floor. 

“I’m sorry, y/n. Truly, I am.”

He placed the small business card on the counter, grabbing the bags you didn’t even notice, mumbling an ‘I’ll be staying with Haz,’ before walking out the front door, like he did every other day. This time, though, you had the sinking feeling he was leaving for good. 

-

It was only three weeks that your lawyer came over to meet with you, joined by Tom and his lawyer. You kept your eyes focused on the table as you signed the paperwork, wanting to get this done as soon as possible. 

As soon as everyone left, you shut the door, slid down the back of it, and cried. 

-

Nearly two months after the worst day of your life and it was time for a self care night. The ring that once sat on your left hand was buried away in your jewelry box somewhere and you were finally starting to feel free and somewhat happy again after crying yourself to sleep and wondering where it all went wrong for months. 

After the divorce you buried yourself in work, using it as a distraction from going home to an empty house. You also moved out of the house you once called home. Not only was it too painful to go home to an empty house, but it was too painful to go home to a house that held so many happy and loving memories. You took the necessities along with some things you wanted with you and set yourself up in a hotel room for the time being. You treated it as a vacation. Except only a few people knew where you were. Your family knew, along with your friends, including Harrison, on the condition he didn’t tell Tom where you were. You started making time for yourself in your little hotel room and you became happier. 

Tonight, after a long day of work, you ordered your favorite Chinese food, played your favorite songs, and ran yourself a bath with a vanilla scented bath bomb. You were enjoying a glass of wine, the hot water of the bath soothing you when the music playing from your phone was interrupted by a call coming in. 

To your surprise, it was Tom. You contemplated answering it, but instead, let it go to voicemail. However, you were curious as to why he called, though you were also 99% positive it was a pocket dial. So you played the voicemail, the familiar voice ringing throughout the bathroom. 

“Hey y/n, um, I hope you’re doing well. I just called because I wanted to tell you something. I um, I miss you. A lot. And I know I don’t get to feel that way but I do and I just wanted to tell you that and I guess ask if there was any possibility of meeting to talk? Uh, call me back if...if you want. I don’t blame you if you hate me. Bye. Love y-” 

You turned off the voicemail before the phrase could be finished. Millions of thoughts filled your mind, ranging from happy ones to ones that made your heart ache and tears fill your eyes. 

You decided to ignore it, pretend it never happened, and enjoy your self care night. 

-

When Tom pulled up to his former house with flowers in his car and a pit of nerves in his stomach, he expected to see your car in the driveway and at least one light to be on. He was greeted with an empty driveway and a dark house, which confused him. It was the weekend, so you weren’t work. Maybe you had to run an errand? 

But after 20 minutes, he gave up hope that you were home and tried to call you, which to no surprise, you didn’t pick up again. He instead called Harrison in an effort to try and find out if he knew where you were. 

“What do you want?” Harrison answered, half concentrating on what Tom was about to say and half concentrating on the game in front of him. 

“Do, uh, do you know where y/n is?” Tom asked, taking Harrison by surprise. 

“y/n?” Harrison paused the game, suddenly not able to concentrate on it. “Why d’you want to know where y/n is?”

“I just want to talk to her.” He mumbled. 

“If I knew that’s where you were going I wouldn’t have let you go.” Harrison sighed. “Listen she made me swear that I wouldn’t tell you-” 

“Please Harrison? You’ve seen how much of a mess I’ve been. I just want to see if I have a shot.” Tom begged, making his friend cave. 

“Fine but if she moves again I won’t be telling you shit.”  

-

The next day you were enjoying a cup of tea and reading your book, getting some relaxation in before your week began when a knock on the door interrupted you. Confusion filled your body, you weren’t expecting anyone to pop by. 

Looking out the peephole, you froze at the sight that greeted you. Tom was standing outside your door, a bouquet of your favorite flowers in his hands. 

“Hi.” He breathed out, his nose and the tips of his ears red from the harsh winter air. 

“How the hell did you find me?” You asked, keeping your eyes focused on the ground. 

“Harrison. I begged him to tell me.” He answered. 

“I’m gonna kill him.” You muttered. “What do you want?”

“Can..Can I come in?” He asked. 

You wanted to say no, that he could say what he wanted to say outside or just not let him speak at all. But you wanted to be courteous to the other people on your floor and part of you was curious as to what he was going to say. So you wordlessly opened the door slightly, letting him in and closing the door behind him. 

“Now what do you want?”

“Did you get my voicemail?” He responded, hope filling his eyes when you nodded. “Um, I brought these for you. I was hoping we could talk.” 

“I don’t want your flowers. Why should I talk to you? We’re divorced, just like you wanted.” Tom winced at the words. “Nothing to change.” 

“Actually, we’re not.” He corrected. “I called the office the other day. Um, it’s not official yet.” 

“Well then they should make it official. Maybe I can call them and make it happen as my very last Christmas present to you. Just what you wanted.” You snapped. 

“No, this isn’t what I want, can I speak, please?” He pleaded, his eyes resembling those of a puppy. 

“You’re speaking already.” You answered, gesturing for him to continue nonetheless. 

“I- How have you been? I stopped by the house-”

“Tom I’m not gonna listen to your small talk. Say what you have to say and leave.” You told him. His heart broke but he couldn’t blame you. 

“Um, so I thought I wasn’t happy with you but um, as time went on, I realized how much I miss having you in my life.” He began, visibly nervous. “I was just looking through our pictures and how happy you looked and I just, I guess I realized I wanted to be the one to make you that happy again.”

“You haven’t made me happy in months, Tom.” 

“I know.” His heart clenched. “I know and I’m so sorry, y/n. I really am.” 

“Was there someone else? Did you cheat on me?” You asked. 

“No, no absolutely not, y/n.” He answered before adding; “I went on a date with someone after we split up but it didn’t work out. I realized she wasn’t what I want.” 

“Of course she wasn’t.” You scoffed. 

“I want you, y/n. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy again.” He told you, tears filling your eyes. “Is there..is there any possibility you could love me again?” 

“Again?” You seethed. “Tom I never fell out of love with you! I never stopped loving you! That was all you! You stopped loving me and you wanted this stupid fucking divorce!”

“I..I don’t think I ever stopped loving you either.” He whispered, tears falling down his rosy cheeks. “Please, y/n, if there’s even the tiniest chance..” 

“Of what, Tom? Of going right back to being married? Of you making me happy? I don’t know, Tom! I don’t know anything except that I hate you right now.” You sobbed, crying into your knees while Tom let out quiet sobs of his own, his heart clenching at the lack of wedding band on your left hand and the lack of love in your voice, but especially your eyes. Your eyes, which once held so much love and adoration for him were now full of anger and resentment. 

“Of..anything, y/n. Please, I just want a second chance to show you how much you mean to me, to make you happy again. I will do anything to save us, anything you want. And...and if it’s not working or you just really hate me, I wouldn’t blame you. Not at all.” He begged, his eyes puffy and red. 

“I tried to save us, Tom. Don’t you remember? I begged and pleaded with you to do couples therapy to go on dates when you were breaking my heart into a million tiny pieces. I begged you to try and fight for us, for our marriage, but you just walked out the god damn door!” You spit through gritted teeth. 

“I fucked up, I know. I fucked up so badly.” He cried, wiping his tears away. 

“And if leaving me wasn’t enough, you took Tessa too! I was left completely alone in that big fucking house that was haunted by you. I couldn’t stand it.” You sobbed. 

“I’m..I’m sorry, y/n. So so fucking sorry. What do you want me to do?” 

“I want...I want you to hurt. I want you to hurt the way you hurt me. I want you to know how this fucking feels.” You said, your voice getting louder with each word that fell from your lips.

Tom could only cry. This was ripping him apart, he couldn’t even imagine what the whole thing felt like to you. 

“I’m gonna need time to think, Tom.” You finally mumbled, Tom nodding in response. 

“I’ll give you all the time you need. I promise you-” 

“Don’t. Don’t promise me anything.” You spoke, your voice low. “You won’t be able to keep it. You promised you’d love me forever four years ago and look what happened.” 

“y/n pl-”

“You don’t get to do this. You-you don’t get to just waltz right back in here and ask for a second chance to fight for us when I didn’t even get a first chance. How do I know this won’t end like it did before?” 

“y/n, I swear to you, if this isn’t working out, you can leave me. I...I just want a chance to prove myself to you.” He begged. 

“God, Tom. You don’t get it! I’m not going through this again. Do you realize how much you broke me the first time? Fuck, you had a chance, Tom. And you threw it away.” You muttered quietly. 

“I regret that every day. Every god damn day.” He told you honestly.

“I don’t know, Tom.” You sighed. 

“Talk to me?” He tried, knowing you were hiding something deeper than an ‘I don’t know.’

“Don’t know what else there is to say.” You mumbled. “I don’t trust you, I-I can’t trust you. I hate you.” 

“Why’d you get a hotel room?” Tom sniffled, changing the subject. 

“I told you. I hated being in that house. Hated being surrounded by the happy pictures and memories of us.” You told him honestly. “I want to start over.” 

“What?”

“I want to start over. I can’t go back to being emotionally married to you even if we’ll still be married legally. I’m talking starting from scratch, as if we were meeting for the first time, the whole deal.” You told him. 

“That sounds perfect, y/n. Thank y-”

“Get out, Tom. Please. I just want to be alone and not with you right now. I’m still not happy with you.” 

“Okay.” He breathed out, hope filling him once again. “You won’t regret this, I promise.” 

“What did I just say about promises?” You asked tearily. 

“I know, I know. I’m determined to keep this promise, though.” He told you. 

“Fine. Whatever. Just please leave for now.” You whimpered, watching as he walked out the door, just like he did when he broke your heart. 

You decided you needed another self care night. Another bath was run, another vanilla scented bath bomb was used, more wine was consumed. 

Tom texted you right as you got out of the bath. 

Tom: hey y/n, it’s tom, just incase you don’t have my number saved anymore. I just wanted to say thank you for the second chance. I really am grateful. I hope you have a relaxing night, you deserve it. 

You rolled your eyes and tossed your phone gently on your bed, though you could feel your heart rate pick up and butterflies fill your stomach. 

-

Tom began texting you sweet little things each morning, whether it was to let you know that he’s been thinking of you or to tell you that he hopes you have a great day. At first you ignored them, but then you began responding in short answers of one or two words until the two of you were texting every day, like when you met for the first time seven years ago. 

-

Over a month after you started texting again, Tom took you on a first date. Pulling up to your hotel, Tom felt the nerves fill his body as he walked up to your door and knocked, another bouquet of your favorite flowers in his hand. 

He felt all the air leave his lungs as you opened the door. You looked absolute stunning. You were wearing a navy blue dress that reached down to just above your knees, one Tom bought you one year. 

“Wow, hi.” He breathed. “You look stunning.” 

“Thank you.” You smiled, accepting the flowers he handed you. “I’ll be right back.” 

Tom took you to your favorite restaurant that night, one that the two of you frequented when you (formerly) went on dates. 

When he took you back to your hotel, he walked you up to the door, where he nervously asked if he could kiss you. 

You said yes, and that was all Tom needed to press a soft kiss to your lips. The kiss was magical, both of you felt the sparks between the two of you. 

“God I missed doing that.” Tom mumbled as he pulled away to breathe. 

“Then do it again.” 

-

A couple months after that, Tom moved back in with you. You had gone back to the house every now and then, to slowly acclimate yourself to being back in the once happy house, only fully moving back when Tom moved back as well. The pictures of the two of you were dusted off, making your heart race instead of hurt at the sight of the happy memories. 

-

Finally, after a year, Tom proposed to you (again). You hesitated a little bit, still scared it would end in heartbreak again, which broke Tom’s heart, but said you yes in the end. 

The two of you renewed your vows, putting on the golden bands that were once again a symbol of the love the two of you shared. 

You had a small party back at your house after the ceremony, your families joining to celebrate. You found Tom alone in the kitchen, grabbing a beer for him and Harry. 

“Hey.” You greeted, fiddling with your fingers as tears of happiness filled your eyes. 

“Hey, what’s wrong, my love?” Tom asked, concerned as soon he saw the tears filling your eyes. 

“Nothing, nothing. I, um,” You started, wiping your tears away and wrapping your arms around Tom’s neck. “I’m really glad we made it back to this.” 

“Me too, lovey. I love you so much.” He whispered, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead.

“Hey, Tommy?” 

“Yeah?” 

“You kept your promise.” You smiled softly, making Tom’s heart ache at the memory of you not being able to trust him. 

“I told you I would.” 

Your moment was interrupted by Harrison, who entered the kitchen, smiling at his two best friends happily in love once again. 

“Aren’t you so glad I told him where you were staying?” He joked, making you roll your eyes. 

“Shut up, Harrison.” You smiled. As your eyes flickered between Tom and Harrison, though, you knew you wouldn’t have been in this position if Harrison didn’t spill the beans to Tom. 

“Hey Haz?” You called, as Harrison went to leave the kitchen in fake offense. He turned at the sound of his name, knowing what was coming. 

“Thank you.” Tom nodded in agreement, his arm slipping around your waist. 

Harrison just smiled even bigger, all three of you knowing everything would be okay from now on.

[parkers-gal]

maybe a cute little blurb about tom and the reader announcing they’re engaged to their parents/families?

enjoyyy :)

requests are open

wc: 1.5k (sorry, went overboard with this)

—

Tom gave you no option, really. You had no choice but to love him, to fall for him as hard as you did. Oftentimes, you thought about how inevitable it was, how inevitable he was. You knew his trap was inescapable, but you were too exhilarated, too thrilled with the idea of being his, that you let him trip you. You let him, let him trip you until you fell hard.

If Tom had fallen any harder, he was positive he’d break his nose for the fourth time in five years. But no, he definitely fell, but he didn’t hit rock bottom. He’d fallen for you, and that was the scariest thing in the entire world to him — losing you, falling so hard and fearing if you’d leave. He knew if you did leave, he’d never recover, never truly live the same way.

So he’s asking for you to be his, for forever. Granted, forever is a long time, and that’s almost what Tom loves most about it. He loves calling you his, knowing you’re connected at the hip, in the mind, with your hearts. But he also loves having the security of everyone else knowing it, too.

You love it too — you love what the ring symbolizes. Your Tiffany & Co. ring, a dashing 1.27 carats. You love Tom, and the way his mind works — he didn’t go the traditional route in getting your parents’ blessing and buying a ring. Instead, he’d asked you casually.

“Hey, love.” Tom walks into the kitchen, sitting on the counter beside the stove where you’re heating the kettle for some tea.

“What’s up, baby?”

“Do you… wanna go shopping today?”

“For what?”

“A ring.”

You freeze, glancing up at him with shocked eyes, eyes full with pleasant surprise.

“A ring?”

“For… you. For us- for… marriage?”

“Tommy…” You lean back, mouth open slightly. You can feel tears starting to form, starting to wet your eyes. It’s love — you can feel it — it’s love that’s wetting your eyes, your cheeks, your face. It’s love that causes these happy tears. “What’re you saying?”

“I’m saying…” He jumps off the counter, grabbing both of your hands after coming closer to you, filling up the space between you and him. “That I want you to be mine for… the rest of my life.”

“Tom,” You pout. “I don’t know what to say.”

“That you’ll let me?” His eyes are more hopeful than they’ve ever been in his entire life. Even more so than when he’d auditioned for Spider-man. He’s practically on his knees for you, sacrificing his heart in return for yours. “That you’ll let me be yours?”

You break into a smile, arms wrapping around his neck, lips by his ear as you whisper your response, feverishly and softly and passionately. “Of course, I’ll let you. You’ve always been mine.”

That day, the two of you went into Tiffany & Co. together, pointing at the jewels and bands and accessories with smiles wider than the Grand Canyon. You had a feeling, later on, that perhaps every store worker was watching the two of you, watching your love bounce off the walls of the fancy shop. They were watching you with jealous eyes, with proud eyes, that you were taking this large step together, and decided to include them in just a small piece of your journey together.

It’s been a month since then, and for the first time ever, you’re wearing your ring out in public. You’re having dinner with Tom’s family and your own family. It’s your parents’ anniversary — at least, last week it was, but they decided to celebrate with connected family later on — which means close family is gathering for a small dinner party.

“Don’t get cold feet on me.” Tom’s chin rests in the crook of your neck as he hugs you from behind. You’re looking in the full-length body mirror, adjusting your clothes as you slip the engagement ring on your finger like you’ve done so many times when you’re alone.

“Never, Tommy.” You return his smile, turning around in his arms and leaning to give him a soft kiss. It’s not a peck, but it’s not messy — it’s passionate and intimate and everything you’ve ever wanted. It’s what you’ve dreamed of, fantasized, read in every romance novel you could get your hands on.

It’s easy, being in love with Tom. It’s the easiest thing you’ve ever done and the most difficult thing in the world. It’s hard when everybody wants to be in your place, when everybody wants to be his. But it’s easy, knowing that he’d never trade his place for anything in the universe. If he’s not by your side, then he’s betrayed everything he’s ever told himself.

He’s complete by your side. That’s cliche, and even he knows it, but nothing has ever felt so true to him. Nothing has ever felt so right.

You lock the front door, holding your potato quiche with two hands as you make your way to the car. Tom sets the gift bag in the backseat before opening the passenger for you. You smile, thanking him, and he steals a cheek kiss before closing the door. You chuckle, setting the quiche on your lap as you buckle your seat belt. He does the same, buckling his seatbelt and shifting the gear, leaving the driveway before offering you his hand.

You accept it, interlocking your fingers. He blushes at the gesture, giddy inside. There’s something so intimate about affection in an act as simple as driving or even cleaning the dishes. There’s something so knee weakening about needing to feel someone against your skin in the simplest of acts. Against your skin in a raw way that isn’t animalistic, passionate yet not feverishly or greedy. There’s something so butterfly-provoking about displays of love in settings that aren’t even romantic.

It’s suffocating yet addicting at the same time. He’s addicting, but not as much as you.

As you get closer to the front door of the Holland household, you find yourself covering your hands with the sleeves of your hoodie. As you enter the house, you’re too caught up in greetings and hugs and food and people to realize you haven’t let the piece of jewelry show.

Dinner hasn’t even been served yet and you’re already growing hot and sweaty. You’re sipping wine, leaning against the fireplace with Tom’s arm around your waist. He’s calmly sipping beer, fingers ever present on your skin. As he leaves yet another kiss against the underside of your ear, you feel urged to ask to make the announcement now, rather than during dessert.

“Can we… tell them now?”

“Really?” He pauses his latest kiss against your neck, whispering back to you. When you nod, he smiles and mirrors your headshake. “May I take your jacket then, kind lady?” He puts on a Victorian accent and you giggle.

“If you insist.”

As your arms are stripped of the hoodie, you hand it off to him for safekeeping in the coat closet. When he returns to your side, your hands are behind your back, waiting for Tom to gather everyone’s attention.

“Hey, everyone, there’s uh- there’s something we’d like to talk about with everyone.”

As Harry raises a brow, he makes eye contact with his twin who hollers for Nikki to come in from the kitchen for a moment. Your parents are bewildered, as is your sister and Harrison.

With a final look at Tom, you smile as Nikki settles onto the arm of a chair Dominic is sitting in. You hold up your left hand, proudly showing off the newest ring to your collection. Your mom gasps first, and Nikki stands up quickly when she realizes what she’s seeing.

Paddy looks at Tom for positivity on what this means, and he can only smirk with a blush brighter than the star he named after you. All in a matter of seconds, your mothers are running towards you, Harrison and Sam and Harry screaming in excitement, in congratulations. Tom is hugging your father, shaking his hand nervously.

Your sister is next to see you, pulling you into her embrace with a teary smile and happy eyes. “You’re… gonna be married.”

You laugh, nodding as you try not to cry too. “Yeah.”

“So he’s the one, huh?”

“Yeah,” You eye Tom, who’s talking to your mother and your sister’s husband. “He’s… the only one.”

When you turn your head back in your sister’s direction, she’s looking at you with soft eyes and an adoring smile. You try not to get flustered, but when you look at Tom again, he’s looking at you already, all the way from across the living room.

He’s smiling in a way he never has before, looking at you as if you’re the only person he’s ever laid eyes on. Goosebumps raise on your skin, a chill sent straight up your spine, and suddenly, you know you’re meant to do this for the rest of your life.